The Moon, Mercury, and Manchester
by Carlo Santos
Summary: BACK AFTER HIATUS! When an old enemy resurfaces in Europe with new tricks, Sailor Mercury gets unexpected help from Earth's most popular soccer team: Manchester United. Also features Sailor Moon, Juventus, and an alt. version of the 2003 Champions League.
1. Meeting Sailor Mercury: Game On!

UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal 2nd Leg  
Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England  
Manchester United Vs. Real Madrid

Throughout my life, I've been someone who's been able to do the deeds of a lion in a cub's body. I'm Phillip Carlo Santos. I'm a North Carolinian Filipino-American teenager finishing up high school with high hopes for the future. I don't have a nickname, but if I did, I would call myself the Young Gun.

For all of my classroom experiences, though (which I performed well during), my most important crash course I got on doing it big at a young age came in Europe during the spring of 2003. I was only 15 years old when I burst onto the scene as a soccer prodigy who led RJ Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem to a terrific season while still maintaining what would turn out to be a Junior Marshal-like class rank. With a lot of spark but also a lot of luck, I had a terrific game against a powerful out-of-state opponent-with a scout from Manchester United there to watch.

Before I knew it, I, the central midfield ace with blistering speed, good endurance, a good shot, good defending ability, some nifty moves, a lot of emotion, and a terrific way of playing smart, was looking at an opportunity at a fast-forward deal with Manchester United for Champions League play. After some behind-the-scenes wrangling, they agreed that I could keep my scholastic eligibility as long as I wasn't paid-a sacrifice I was glad to make as I still absolutely leapt at the opportunity to play alongside many of my favorite players, including David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes.

In March, I became the youngest American to play in the UEFA Champions League, Europe's club championship, when I made a substitute appearance at Old Trafford against Basel of Switzerland when we were flagging slightly. If the first step is the most important, that first game was a sign of things to come-and didn't I love it as I notched a hat trick in just fifteen minutes. About four weeks or so later, I was back on the United bench for a much bigger game: against Real Madrid in the quarterfinals' 2nd leg at Old Trafford after Real had taken a 3-1 opener at the Santiago Bernabeu. I came in excited at playing against Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos, and Iker Casillas, but I found myself fidgeting slightly as we found ourselves up only 4-3 in the final 10 minutes. That was until I got told to warm up.

**Oh, my God.** I thought. **I'm actually going to play against Real Madrid!** I was scared to death about losing and ending my terrific ride, but I was also psyched at the thought of at least having a say in the outcome.  
I suspected that Coach Ferguson wanted me in there because it looked as if we would go down and therefore didn't have much to lose. I didn't know if that was his rationale, but I did know that I was going to try to give Real a run for its money.

I reached my spot in the dead center of our midfield as I heard the cheers over my entrance. Looking ahead, I saw Zizou heading towards me, and I quickly picked him up. Being a kid for the most part, I liked the opportunity to defend a star, and so I found myself sticking with him when he tried to shake me with swerves, jukes, and step-overs. He then tried going through my legs, but I saw it coming enough to close my feet together, trap the ball, and win it to yells of approval from the crowd, Ryan, Paul, and David.

Seeing an opening ahead after the steal, I kept my head down and began sprinting upfield, flashing a few moves of my own and suddenly finding myself in the clear.  
**Take it to the house, buddy.** I thought. **Come on!**  
After the match, people said I kicked into an even higher gear when I won that breakaway, but I wasn't aware of it-for good reason. Reaching the penalty area, I watched Casillas carefully before rounding him and tucking the ball home to bring us within a goal of victory.  
**That's it! **I thought. **Let's die hard!**  
Roaring with delight, I spread my arms like wings. I don't exactly imitate Ronaldo because I keep my palms down and my arms straight out, and I run straight ahead instead of weaving.

Eight minutes later, as stoppage time loomed, I called for the ball and outsprinted Claude Makelele into some open space as David hit me with a great through ball. I saw Ryan sprinting past Figo on the left, but I wasn't too good at passing through traffic, so I passed it back to a now-open David, who hit a great long pass to Ryan, who quickly turned towards goal. As I held my breath and the crowd roared Ryan on, he made his cut, faked out Casillas, and hit it hard and high into the top right corner.  
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" I screamed as I chased Ryan, who was celebrating at the left corner flag by raising his fist at us. **We're in the lead! We're actually in the lead! **I thought frantically.

Quickly, I recovered myself and began playing defense again. Figo's run against Paul, however, was to no avail as Paul stuck with him and knocked it away out of bounds. I watched breathlessly as the referee looked at his watch-and then blew his whistle twice.

"Yeah!" I yelled as I heard the whistle and the crowd erupted. I quickly shook hands with Zizou, who was in front of me, said a hasty but sincere "Bien joue" and went off to celebrate with my other teammates. Not two minutes had elapsed, though, before I started hearing screams from the crowd, making me start.

Those screams weren't of joy, but of terror.

**What's going on?** I thought. I turned and saw what everyone was screaming about-and was promptly scared stiff momentarily.

It looked like a large black demon with a hint of red, who was starting to roar at the crowd and us and who was shooting some fireballs into the stands, which exploded and injured a number of fans.  
Part of me wanted to stay and fight, but before I could think for myself what to do, I heard Roy yelling, "Off the pitch! Off the pitch, quick!"

Several police officers were shooting from the stands, but the monster then formed a clear red shield in the shape of a rectangular prism that blocked the bullets-but not before it flickered slightly.  
"Now what?" Ruud Van Nistelrooy asked as we reached the relative safety of the dugout.  
"They can't shoot at that thing forever and that shield looks strong! I don't know if it'll be enough!" Paul told him. Before he finished speaking, the gunshots stopped.

"Oh, no." Ryan and I said. I had never been so distressed to hear something fall silent in my life.

Before we ended up plumb scared, though, David yelled, "Look!" He pointed back towards the field, and we whipped around to look. Real Madrid had already cleared the pitch.  
One girl had jumped onto the field and was standing before the monster defiantly. It was an unbelievable sight-a girl standing out there as if she was planning to take the monster down herself when bullets wouldn't do the job. What's more, from our vantage point, it looked like she was speaking to the monster in a loud voice.

"Wow." Ryan said breathlessly. "What's she doing?"  
"Darned if I know!" I said. By now, a small number of us had stopped in the dugout to watch the scene as if spellbound.

I watched as the girl started to fight back. Incredible as it looked, it looked like she was performing some sort of bubble spray attack, but I couldn't tell what it was exactly. But whatever it was, it seemed to have no effect because the shield didn't even flicker and shudder. My insides plummeted, and I was suddenly seized with a desire to go out onto the pitch and help.

I started to move. "I'm going out there."  
David seized me with both arms around my chest and said, "You can't, Carlo! It's too dangerous! That lass out there just might turn the tables!"  
I squinted and looked at the girl, who seemed to be clad mostly in white. I began thinking of a clue to who she might be, but it was something that I had heard years ago, something that seemed like a fairy tale. But whoever she was, I had made up my mind-I wasn't going to let her be taken down when she couldn't fight. I redoubled my efforts to break free from David's grasp.

"Look, David, I just can't let her fight alone out there against that thing!" I said, trying to tear free. With that, I gave one good wrench of my upper body, freed myself, and tore out onto the field. An intrepid fan tried to throw a soccer ball at the monster, but it was way short and landed in front of me. Struck with a sudden idea, I got to it and started dribbling it.

"Now I've got you!" The monster was shouting, bearing down on the girl.  
"No, you don't!" I yelled, and the whole stadium seemed taken aback as I ran up towards him and fired a shot off my right foot. It curved slightly and slammed into the barrier, which shook and flickered slightly, evidently damaged. I kept running and managed to chase down the rebound. I trapped the ball with the girl to my left.

"If you want her, you'll have to take me, too!" I yelled. I shot again and hit, further damaging the shield.  
"You're Carlo Santos, the young star, right?" The girl asked me.  
"Yeah." I said, breathing hard and chasing down the rebound again. Then I turned to look at who was speaking to me—and had my world turned upside down.

I forgot my fatigue as I looked at her, glanced at her sailor suit, and took a huge jolt as I finally realized who she was. Momentarily robbed of the ability to talk because of my heavy shock, I struggled to speak, and when I managed to find my voice again after a second or so, I said breathlessly,  
"Hang on! Good God! Whoa! You're Sailor Mercury, aren't you?"  
"Yes." She replied, smiling, and I felt my heart quiver momentarily.  
"Oh, my God." I gasped. "What're you doing in England?"  
"I can't answer that right now. Carlo, I need your help to deal with this demon."

Paralyzed with shock, bewilderment and happiness, I stood looking at her. Any doubts that it was **her** were dispelled as I looked. The gold tiara, the blue short pleated skirt, the calming but warm blue eyes, the dark blue hair-I knew it couldn't be anyone else, and yet I was pinching myself to see if I had dozed off in the dugout into some surreal dream-but I soon knew the girl I was looking at was no dream.

She **was** Sailor Mercury, of all people, the girl of whom I'd heard of as a kid when I learned through the grapevine about her, her past life, and her life with the Sailor Scouts. I was frantically thinking, **Wow! I'm actually meeting Sailor Mercury-and I'm meeting her while I'm in a United uniform in the middle of Old Trafford with almost 60,000 people watching us! **I almost felt embarrassed that I had my mouth open with shock in front of everybody, but now that I was actually seeing her in person, I was looking at her and thinking, **Oh, my gosh, she's almost too beautiful.** I'd heard of one person calling her the Rhapsody in Blue, and had personally accepted it as one of her titles. Judging from the heart-shaped brooch and longer-tailed ribbon, I'd say she was using her Super Sailor form, but I'll refer to her as Sailor Mercury due to personal preferences (I've never firmly grasped the idea of adding the words "Super" or "Star" to their names).

The monster howled in anger and released small spheres of dark energy that materialized into three walking demons-smaller, but equally menacing.

Sailor Mercury's eyes met mine. "Here we go. Are you ready?"  
"I'm not out of here." I replied. "Here goes nothing."

I dribbled past one and dummied the other two before hammering another shot into the shield, drawing roars from the crowd. The enemy barrier was visibly shaking now. Two more demons materialized to make the count five, and it kept building slowly as time went on. I tried going past them while Sailor Mercury froze them with her Shine Aqua Illusion to level the scales, but she couldn't keep them locked up forever, and we were kept busy.

Suddenly, I heard David yelling, "Carlo, over here!"  
I backheeled and was answered with a loud thump as David drove a curving shot over the demons' heads into the shield. The crowd cheered, brought to its senses again.  
"We decided to lend a hand-we can't have you two out there against this growing force." David said, looking at the enemy apprehensively. Ryan and Roy had come by now, followed by Paul and Ruud.  
Sailor Mercury gasped. "Hey, aren't you David Beckham?"  
"That's me." David said. "And who might you be, miss?"  
"She's a friend, David." I said. "Questions later-we've got a nut to take down!"  
"Hang on, we need to collect ourselves first!" Sailor Mercury yelled. "Mercury Ice Bubbles Freeze!" She shouted again, turning to the demon and his cohorts again. We watched amazed as we saw the fog envelop them before it dispersed to reveal them frozen solid.

"Everybody in." She said, turning to us. "Come on, quick!" With that, we all huddled up.  
Sailor Mercury pulled us all together. Right then and there, I felt-and I think we all felt-a soothing, gentle presence that she gave off. Our black-trimmed red and white uniforms stood out in sharp contrast to her blue and white sailor suit as we leaned in. That huddle was a place of peace and calmness amidst the chaos and terror that we were confronting.  
It was at this time that I started getting that uncanny feeling that you get when you know you're going places. I was thinking, **We're going to win. I know we're going to win-she's not going to let us lose.** It was as if we were looking at her as if saying, "**What now?" **only to have her look back at us as if replying, **"We're going to be okay."**

"That should hold them for a while, but we still have to think fast or we won't make it." She said, looking at me. "We need to put our heads together. There's one thing we know already-that shield deflects any of my direct attacks, so I'll just provide support against those demons."  
"Okay." I said. Throughout most of the conversation, I acted as the United spokesman, with David, Roy, and the others too shocked to speak. "How do you want us to play out?"  
Sailor Mercury put her white-gloved hand to her mouth in thought, and then looked at me intently. "Do what you think is best-you've worked with these men more than I have. I've got a lot of confidence in you since you've got a lot of star power. I'll help on those smaller demons so you'll get in some open shots."  
"Okay, Sailor Mercury." I said. "Once that shield goes down, that nutcase's yours for the taking." I turned to the rest. "Guys, remember, in this game, power really counts, so try to shoot hard instead of just sliding it past them, okay?"  
"Yeah!" My teammates all shouted, coming to their senses.  
Sailor Mercury added to the growing emotion with a tirade. "Let's give it all we've got! Becks, Paul, Carlo, and the rest of you, let's give it all we've got! This isn't your average knockout match. If we lose to this monster, there's no tomorrow-possibly not ever!"  
"Not if we can help it!" I yelled, ready for action despite the hard game.  
"Aye, not if we have anything to say!" Ryan roared. "If you and Carlo can give that thing a hard time, we can crush him!" The team cheered.  
Sailor Mercury asked, "Sounds great! Do you want to start with a cheer, Becks?"  
"Absolutely." David said. "Carlo?"

"With pleasure, David." I said, grinning. "Everybody in, fellas." When I had come to United, I had brought the American tradition of the huddle and cheer with me.  
We all put our hands into the center. Ruud put his hands on top, but then Sailor Mercury put hers on top, and I saw him look at Sailor Mercury and blush slightly. I relaxed at the sight alone and said, "Oh, boy." And then I let out the yell, "Okay, guys, United on three. One, two, three!"  
"**United!**" we all shouted (even Sailor Mercury did so), and we broke the huddle. The crowd went wild-ever since I had driven that first goal into the shield, they hadn't left their seats. One fan shouted, "This is going to be the biggest battle ever-Sailor Mercury & United against a Negaverse side!"

Some of us clapped our hands over our heads. We lined up (from left to right) with Ryan (left, slightly advanced), me (straight in the center), and David (right) in midfield, Sailor Mercury behind us, Roy in slightly defensive midfield, Paul in advanced midfield by a foot or so, and Ruud as our striker.  
The energy of the moment surged through me like nobody's business. As my spirit surged, eager for battle, I forgot every trace of fear. Personally, I think that's anger's only good use-to destroy fear and doubt and to invigorate.

Suddenly, the ice shattered, and the defenders began rushing towards us. We began charging upfield, and I passed to David, who drilled home another curving shot for another goal.  
One demon shoved Ruud hard in the back, knocking him over.  
"You won't get away with that!" Sailor Mercury shouted. "Shine Aqua Illusion!"  
Everybody suddenly halted as we watched her twirl gracefully around before hurling the mass of water at Ruud's attacker. The demon froze and then broke into nothingness once the ice shattered.  
"Red card." Sailor Mercury said with a hint of contempt at the spot where the demon had once been.  
"Thanks." Ruud said. "Come on, let's go!"  
"Go for the corners on the shield!" Sailor Mercury yelled at us. "That's its weak point!"  
"Right up our alley!" I yelled, and was off again down the field.

The crowd roared as we piled on the goals, including David's ferocious long-range shots, Roy's, Paul's, and Ruud's thunderous headers and volleys, and dashing strikes from Ryan and me, featuring hard runs, step-overs, dummies, rainbows, hurdles, and juggles-to-volleys that left defenders sprawling. The enemy defenders were no set-ups: they performed hard tackles and shoves (or so they tried), offside traps (so that the monster could have a clear shot at us), and hard-marking man-to-man, but we were able to cope-in no small part because Sailor Mercury was doing one darn good coaching job, yelling things at us like "Watch the offside trap!" and "Your forward's got his defender beat!" The shield even fluctuated its weak point from the corners to the center and back again a few times, and that was another area where Sailor Mercury was a real lifesaver, informing us when that took place. Sometimes, the defenders would try to steal it and make runs at Sailor Mercury to deal damage, but Roy often provided crunching tackles that stopped them cold. Occasionally, to our surprise, Sailor Mercury even called for the ball and drilled pinpoint crosses up front for Paul, Ruud, and whoever else was up front, and sometimes even scored from curling shots worthy of Zizou or Roberto Carlos.  
And as she whittled down the force of enemy defenders that was beginning to slowly regenerate, we began to flash our most stylish plays as though it was simply another game, as the crowd grew louder and louder-and I ought to add that they were brave for their part because of their sticking around.

After ten minutes of blitzing our opponents, Ryan ran the ball up the left side, put up a cross headed about seven feet away from the monster's front, and Sailor Mercury, to everyone's surprise, made a run forward.  
"Oy, what's she doing?" Paul yelled.  
"I don't know!" I shouted back.  
As it turned out, as Ryan's cross passed in front of the monster, Sailor Mercury jumped and launched an amazing right-footed thunderous bicycle kick that slammed into the shield dead-center and shattered it.

**No darn way! **I thought. Before I could ponder where it ranked among goals that I had seen, however, the monster suddenly began firing beams out of his feet.

We were driven back, but Sailor Mercury came to our rescue once again.  
"Let's see if you can shoot blindfolded!" She yelled. "Mercury Bubbles!"  
The resulting fog served to throw off the youma's accuracy.  
In the fog that resulted, we huddled together again.  
"Go for those feet quickly!" Sailor Mercury said, activating her visor and looking into the mass of fog as we watched her, amazed. "They can shoot well, but their defense is weak, now that the shield's gone!"  
"Got it!" I yelled. "Ryan! Watch for one down the left!"  
Ryan began running down the left side while I passed to David and he attacked the right flank. The fog was still lingering, but we had a good idea of where the feet where. Finally, he flashed a screaming cross off his right foot that rose in the air slightly before it met Ryan's diving header, ending up disabling the left foot. Paul chased down the rebound, backheeled to David, and a smooth, perfectly placed 15-yard chip over a defender put the right foot out of commission.  
"The git's yours!" Roy yelled as we stepped back. "Nice shooting, Becks!"

Sailor Mercury stepped forward with a flashing glint in her eyes and an audible spark in her voice as she turned off her visor. Roy trapped the ball and yelled, "Stand down, lads, this isn't our fight anymore!" That, however, was very likely unnecessary.  
Such was the aura of power that she now gave off that all of us, even Roy, stepped back a pace or so. "This will teach you not to attack helpless people anywhere! Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"  
We stood transfixed as Roy kept the ball trapped while Sailor Mercury formed her aquatic harp and began strumming it, sending missile after watery missile at the enemy and his defenders. They didn't stand a chance once she had that sort of a shot at them. The demon leader vanished in a column of white light with a scream, taking his thugs with him in the blast.

The crowd simply went nuts. We all started cheering ourselves, and Sailor Mercury had the brightest smile on her face and her hands in the air as Old Trafford erupted into joyful yells, chants, and roars.  
David Beckham, still roaring, then ran at Sailor Mercury, dove on her, and tackled her to the ground, while hugging her madly as if the Mercury Aqua Rhapsody had been a Golden Goal for England in the World Cup final-and the rest of us followed. The normally shy Paul Scholes, beaming broadly, jostled his way past David and kissed Sailor Mercury on the cheek in the state of frenzied joy that was infecting the whole stadium. All seven of us were yelling and shouting joyously, and then our bench began to flood out onto the field.  
As the tangled mass of celebrating bodies shifted and was joined by our other teammates, I found myself trapped beneath Nicky Butt, David, and Ryan. It was even more of a curious predicament because on top of that, Sailor Mercury was floored underneath me to the Old Trafford grass. As a result, our noses were only about an inch apart, and I found myself looking her right in the face.

"You did it, miss!" David screamed. "You got the bloke!"  
"Whoo!" I yelled. "That did it, ladies and gentlemen!"  
Sailor Mercury smiled broadly at me, and I grinned back, now starting to quiver inside. "That performance deserves a man-of-the-match award." She said fervently.  
"Gee, thanks." I said, turning red. "Make no mistake, we all walked away as winners from this one. Okay, everyone, get off, I'm getting crushed here!"  
The pile dispersed, and we all stood. Quite a few of us were still grinning, and many began to walk toward the dressing room. I found myself alone in the center circle with Sailor Mercury.

"I definitely think so, too." She said. Then she went slightly closer, and I resisted the urge to back away for fear that I would totally collapse in her presence.  
She said quietly, "First, do you know who I am? Who I am other than me, that's what I mean."  
"Sort of, I guess." I said. "What is it?"  
"Well, as a princess, I'm not exempt from recognizing achievements in sport on my home planet, so I'd like to give you this."  
She waved her transformation wand, and an armband appeared out of nowhere.  
"This is an award that I give to those who distinguish themselves on the field of sport. It changes depending on the recipient's exploits."  
The armband was two small silver rings linked in the center (lengthwise) with a sapphire disc that featured a white Mercury sign on it. On either side of the sapphire were flat silver soccer balls, with what looked like open books resting beneath them.  
"This is the Student-Athlete Honor Award from the Kingdom of Mercury." She said. "I usually reserve this for banquets and special occasions like that, but this goes above and beyond the call of duty, as they say in America. In light of that, I'm decorating you here and now-for tonight's events as well as what's on your record."  
"Wow." I said. By now, I had forgotten that I was standing on the pitch at Old Trafford in Manchester after the fight.  
"It's funny, but I really felt like I saw myself in you tonight-a good strategist who has a bigger asset in intelligence rather than with skill. Because of your mind, that is, your knowledge of this game's fundamentals coupled with your imagination, you're able to outperform those who are more talented but less smart. That armband will not be just an award, but a reminder. Use your strengths, use your head, put your efforts where they will work best, and you'll be a winner."  
I took the advice to heart and slipped the armband onto my left upper arm.  
"I guess no one knows that better than you, huh?" I asked.  
"Yeah. I don't mean to brag, but I've been there." She answered, her tone lightening as she grinned slightly.  
"Well, I'll try my best. Thank you."  
She replied, "You're welcome. How about going into the locker room? I need to speak with the others. I've got a feeling we haven't seen the last of the Negaverse in England."

In the next chapter-"Locker Room Revelations": How will United react when Amy reveals just who she is? And which other Sailor Scout is in Europe?


	2. Locker Room Revelations

With that, she was off.

I went off the field and down the tunnel into the Manchester United dressing room, where Amy Anderson (apparently, she'd already made her secret identity known to the team) stood in the center. She was now clad in oxfords and a royal blue sleeveless knee-length summer dress with a white collared long-sleeved shirt under it for the English cold.  
Roy yelled, "Here comes a man of the match! Come on, Carlo!"  
The room cheered. Amy looked up at me and smiled widely at the players in my direction, and I grinned back.

The other players were talking amongst themselves excitedly while taking glances at Amy.  
"My word, what an attractive lass."  
"She looks like she's a nice Japanese girl dressed in Irish clothes."  
"Do you see her face, Rio?"  
"Yeah. She looks good when she's smiling with her mouth open!"  
"Oy, Scholesy, do you have some of her makeup on your lips?"  
"She didn't have lipstick, Phillip. And anyway, I snogged her on the cheek, not the lips."

"Is everybody here?" Amy asked. The room fell silent, and some people nodded. She said, "The reporters need time to regroup, so they've moved the press conference back by at least 15 minutes. That should give us plenty of time for you to find out just what's going on."  
We looked half apprehensive and half excited.  
I introduced the other players to Amy, with those who had fought the youma coming first. "By now, I'm sure you know me and David, but here's Ryan Giggs, our Team Wales midfielder/forward, midfielder Paul Scholes of Team England-I think you've seen him-"  
"I have." Amy said, smiling at David and Paul. "I went to the Argentina-England match in Sapporo last year at the World Cup."  
"You watched us play the Argies?" Paul asked, shocked.  
"Oh, what a game that was!" I said. "Is that how you know him?"  
"That's how, all right. He was Man of the Match!" Amy replied.  
"Thanks!" Paul answered, going a tinge red.  
"Oh, come on, Paul, don't get embarrassed over it, everybody I listened to about that game says you didn't have a touch that went wrong!" I said before continuing the introductions.  
"And there's Ruud van Nistelrooy, our star striker. He plays for Team Holland-provides some deadly finishing, I'll tell you." I said. "Last is Roy Keane, our skipper-used to captain Team Ireland. Okay, so he's got a bit of a temper, but you give that guy a challenge and he'll put some real effort into it."  
I finished introducing the rest.  
Amy sat back. "Not a bad lineup! You say everyone who fought the demon is or was a member of a national team?"  
"Everyone but me." I said.

Paul said, "Excuse me." Amy responded, "Yes, Scholesy?"  
The whole room laughed at Amy knowing Paul's nickname, even Paul himself. When the noise had died down, Paul asked, "Who are you and why are you here, Amy?"  
"It's a long story." Amy replied. "Carlo, you seem to know the most about the Scouts' general mission, so could you introduce it?"

I said, "Okay." I cleared my throat, got up, started walking around, and then began. "A few of you guys may have heard of a bunch of girls known as the Sailor Scouts who've been fighting evil in Japan. The Scouts are girls who've lived past lives as princesses throughout the solar system, from what I've heard. They have been warding off threats from an interstellar terrorist group known as the Negaverse for the past few years, serving as their sworn enemies."

I stopped and looked at Amy, who nodded and stepped forward, surveying the room. She said,  
"Now, what I am about to tell you is a secret that is paramount to our safety and the safety of your fans, so do not use it whatsoever in casual conversation until the threat is removed."

The room expressed its assent, and I took a deep breath and looked at Amy. She said,  
"I am Sailor Mercury, one of the Sailor Scouts. That also makes me the Princess of Mercury."

Gasps ensued all around the room. Gary Neville paled and asked Amy in a stunned voice, "Oh, my giddy aunt. You're royalty?"  
"Yeah." She said.  
The whole United locker room sat in stunned silence.

Amy continued, "A week ago, we learned that Queen Beryl, one of our first rivals, might be reincarnated to begin a new reign of terror in England, and we think that tonight's action was something of her warning shot, though even that was dangerous."  
David cut in. "Indeed. But why'd they hit Old Trafford, Amy? Why'd they go after us?"  
Amy replied, "Your deaths would've caused a great moral blow to the public, and Queen Beryl would've seized the opportunity while your fans were paralyzed with grief. Also, there was the opportunity of wiping out about 60,000 people at the very least. Adding to that, I'm arguably the weakest Sailor Scout in terms of brute strength, and they wouldn't have missed the chance to try and take me out of action when I was alone. That makes what you did tonight possibly that much more crucial."

The silence sank in even more to the point that you could have heard a pin drop onto one of the benches. Every eye in the locker room was now on Amy. Coach Sir Alex Ferguson spoke up and said, "Well, Miss Anderson, it's a pleasure to have you with us, even in this dark hour. We play the winner between Juventus and Barcelona here in a week-what do you want us to do?"

"Juventus!" Amy exclaimed. "Juventus of Turin, you mean?"  
"Yeah." I said. "Juventus, Juve, call it what you like. But what's with that?"  
"Well, Carlo, it's time I dropped another bomb on this room." Amy said, grinning slightly. "I'm not the only Sailor Scout on active duty in Europe. Another one just arrived in Spain to suppress another possible attack at the Juventus-Barcelona match."  
"Good God!" I exclaimed before I could stop myself. "Let me guess-you're telling us that Sailor Moon's in Barcelona as we speak?"  
"Yeah." Amy answered. "Nice guess." She grinned slightly.  
The room erupted into a commotion.  
"Wait a moment!" Paul yelled above the noise. The room quieted quickly. He asked, "Amy, who's this Sailor Moon that Carlo's talking about? Is she a friend of yours?"  
"She is." I said. Paul looked at me, and I continued, "Sailor Moon is the Sailor Scouts' skipper."  
"Blimey." Paul said. "How good is she?"  
"Very good." Amy replied. "She may not seem the part, but she's our best girl."  
"Wicked." Paul said tremulously.  
"Hang on, Amy." Ryan said, holding up his hands. He seemed to have caught on to the whole business. "So you're also telling us that there could be a meeting between you two here in Manchester?"  
"Yes." Amy answered.  
"Good God, this is like, unreal." I said.  
If you had told me this was going to happen, my answer would have been, "I wish, but man, that would be cool." But it was happening: in the span of twenty minutes, we'd dusted Real Madrid from behind, met Sailor Mercury, helped her repulse a Negaverse attack on Old Trafford, and now she was telling us that Sailor Moon was in Barcelona in the event of an attack during the Juventus Vs. Barcelona match tomorrow. The sheer shock of it all had me just reeling, and I don't think I was alone by any means to say the least.

"What does this Sailor Moon look like?" David asked.  
"Very pretty, if she looks anything like Amy!" Roy said.  
"Want to see?" Amy said, and she pulled something aquamarine out of her pocket.  
"What is **that?**" David asked.  
"Watch and see!" I said.

It was her mini supercomputer. We heard some typing noises before Amy turned it so that it was facing David. "There she is, Becks. This is my friend, Serena Tsukino."

David, Roy, and I all leaned in to look.  
"Blimey, you don't see a girl fix her hair like that every day." David said.  
"I'll say." I said, understanding his reaction to the unusual double-ball-and-ponytail hairdo.  
"Wow, she doesn't lack much in the way of beauty, either!" Ryan said.

In the next chapter-"Standing United and Enter Juventus":  
The Red Devils are becoming increasingly nervous over the Negaverse threat, but none more so than their 15-year-old American ace, narrator Carlo Santos. Will one of his heroes in Amy be able to help? Also, Sailor Moon takes the field in Barcelona-along with Juventus. Expect Alessandro Del Piero, Edgar Davids, Pavel Nedved, David Trezeguet, Lilian Thuram, Ciro Ferrara, and another young star like Carlo.


	3. Standing United and Enter Juventus

Disclaimer: I should have put this at the top of Chapter 1, but I do not own any trademarks related to Sailor Moon or any of the clubs mentioned here.

That night had been nothing but one sweet wild ride. The next day, though, a dreadful realization hit me.  
**Oh, man, what have I got myself into?  
**As I realized that what we had done the previous night had put us, me included, on the Negaverse's most-wanted list, I began to get increasingly uneasy and uncomfortable as I though I had gotten seriously sick overnight.  
The same seemed to be happening at the others as we practiced at Old Trafford the afternoon after the quarterfinal and that first battle. None of us seemed exactly in sync, and we kept starting when loud clanging noises reached our ears (we would later learn that that was the groundskeeper having a rough day himself.)  
Some of us were making especially uncharacteristic mistakes. Ryan got into a one-on-one against our backup keeper, Roy Carroll, during a short scrimmage, only to push his shot wide right when he almost certainly would have spun it in on any other given day.  
"What's going on, Ryan?" I asked. "Are you okay?" Realizing with a small frightening shock that he might also be starting to feel the heat, I asked him, "Did you sleep well last night?"  
"Yes and no." He said slowly. "I had a great dream, but for some reason I woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat."  
"Don't let it get you down, okay?" I said, putting on a brave face. Ryan made what looked like a forced grin.  
Another time, I was driving hard on Nicky, but he stripped me for the first time in my United stint when I had often burned him during practice. This time, though, I left the ball uncovered for way too long, and he stole it and managed to clear.  
"You all right, Carlo?" David asked me after practice once we had begun dressing back into our street clothes.  
For a split second, I thought about admitting I wasn't, but then a firm voice rose up inside me, saying, **Don't, buddy. You're in this for the long haul, so be tough**. "Yeah." I said, trying to sound sincere.  
David still looked concerned as I finished dressing back into my street clothes and left.

Later in my hotel room, I paced my room tryingto summon resolve and steel myself, but every time I tried to break loose, doubts pushed me back hard. It was like an impregnable defense that was giving me no room at all to run.  
A knock sounded on the door.  
"Who is it?" I asked, bracing myself for trouble.  
"It's Amy."

The voice sounded like her, all right, but I checked the peephole just to make sure. Once I saw her outside, I allowed myself to breathe again as I unlocked the door so that she could come in. She was in a khaki knee-length skirt, oxfords (no socks), and a yellow French turtleneck sweater with its sleeves coming out of a brown jacket.

"Are you all right?" Amy asked, looking worried as she closed the door. "I just talked to Becks-he says you looked a little less energetic than usual at practice."  
"I was." I said, sitting down on the bed and finding Amy sitting down beside me.  
"It's learning to cope with the Negaverse, isn't it?" She asked, as she took off her jacket and hung it on a nearby chair.  
"Yeah." I said. "It's just been the stress…" I went silent for a minute, trying to find the words.  
"Go on." Amy said, looking right at me.  
"Well, first it seemed like I was having a great time in Europe, getting chances to learn and test myself…"  
"And win a Champions League title?" Amy asked.  
"Yeah." I said, chuckling slightly and grinning slightly as well. It was true that part of what attracted me to my fast-forward deal was the fact that I liked the idea of playing for Manchester United against Europe's best. I finished, my grin fading as I felt drained, "…then, all of a sudden, I'm walking the streets of Manchester knowing my life's on the line with every passing second."  
"I had to deal with it at first, too." She said. "It may look cool to be a Sailor Scout or a friend of one, but it's not always like that. It's part of how I learned that responsibility comes with power. Have you seen Spider-Man?"  
"Yeah." I said.  
"Remember what Uncle Ben said to Peter? **With great power comes great responsibility**."  
"Too true." I said.  
"Are you scared of death?"  
"Oh, yes." I replied. "That's one of my biggest fears, but I actually haven't considered it that much. When I do think of it, though, it bugs me quite a bit. I've prided myself quietly on being the youngest among my peers, but this is a situation where I believe my youth is against me."  
"Are you thinking of not playing against Queen Beryl if it comes to that?" she asked. "Be honest, I'm not forcing you to do this."  
"Oh, Lord no, I'm not sitting out." I said. "I'm in until the end. I already made the choice to play against the Negaverse until the end-that was right after we beat Real. Now, Amy…" I paused for a moment, then said earnestly, "…I know you wouldn't ask me to do something I couldn't do, but the pressure's just been huge." I let out a sigh of fatigue once I'd finished.

Amy said, "Come here." With that, she spread her arms slightly. I was so worried aboutpossibly dyingthat I readily let myself fall into her, letting my head rest over her heart and gripping her around the middle as well. As she embraced me, I was immediately comforted, as though I had just sunk into a warm spa.  
She told me, "You've got a lot of guts, Carlo. I just want you to know that to be soft is not to admit defeat."  
"Thanks, Amy." I said, straightening up and smiling sincerely. "I really needed that. I guess I wasn't coughing it up because I hate to lose or be seen as soft."  
"Oh, I understand that too well." She replied, smiling back. "I know a whole lot of people who hate that, too. Just don't forget that **together we'll be okay.**" She was looking me in the eye again with a very caring yet very determined look, and I found myself suddenly vigorous and unafraid.  
"Yes, ma'am!" I said emphatically, nodding.  
"Oh, I forgot to tell you!" Amy added.  
"What?" I asked, slightly startled.  
"Thanks again for saving my life yesterday, Carlo." With that, she hugged me again, making me smile again. "Do you want to take a walk? It might relieve your mind to have a conversation."  
"Sure." I said, continuing to grin. Just then, however, my cell phone rang, and I answered. "Hello?"  
"It's David." I heard David's voice saying in a serious tone. "Keano and I are calling a team meeting in the dressing room-it's urgent. Where's Amy? We need her there."  
"She just had a talk with me to calm my nerves, David. I'll be there." I said.  
"She's a marvel at loosening a lad up, isn't she?" David replied, sounding pleased. "See you in the dressing room."

We immediately put on our jackets. Amy said, "Do you go anywhere without that jacket?"  
"I do go places without it." I said, referring to my Manhattan-red corduroy jacket as I put on my cap. "But I hardly leave it behind while I'm on soccer business." I added, grinning.  
We were outside now, and Amy yelled, "Taxi!" while waving.  
One cab halted, and we piled in. "Old Trafford!" I said.  
We arrived quickly and tipped the driver, and then we went into the dressing room.

Everyone was sitting in there in street clothes, and Roy and David were on their feet, looking businesslike but tense. Everybody still smiled and some waved as Amy and I entered, though.  
"What's going on?" I asked.  
"UEFA's moved our match location for the semifinal 1st leg." Roy said. "We're playing at Wembley."  
(Author's note: I know the real Wembley is under construction, but for all intents and purposes, the new stadium has been completed somehow before this story.)  
The whole room erupted in what were mostly gasps.  
"Wembley?" I said. "Oh, man."  
"What's Wembley?" Amy asked, puzzled.  
"Have you ever been to the International Stadium in Yokohama or the National Stadium in Tokyo, Amy?" Ryan replied.  
"I've been to the International Stadium once or twice." Amy said, looking interested. "But why?"  
"Well, to what the International is to Japan, Wembley is to England. It's the citadel of English football. Nobody-and I ruddy well mean **nobody**, Amy-wants to lose at Wembley. I know fans out there who would die for tickets to a game there."  
"Wow, sounds huge!" Amy replied. "Where is it?"  
Paul said, "London, Amy. We're leaving at four o'clock tomorrow."  
"How?" I asked. "Train, plane, what?"  
"By plane." Coach Ferguson replied.  
"Why'd they choose Wembley?" I asked.  
"Evidently, they wanted to get Manchester out of danger while showing they weren't going to be intimidated by Queen Beryl." Gary chipped in.  
"Could I have everyone's attention?" Amy asked. We all nodded, and then she started to speak, looking grave.

"Some of our intelligence has revealed that Queen Beryl may attempt a strike on Wembley. Chances are, she'll do it after the game, when you're all tired out from a full 90 minutes, with the exception of the substitutes. And chances also are that she's armed herself with the same shield magic we saw yesterday. Serena and I need help, and no mistake-and if we both fall, so may London and perhaps more. Even though you've proven yourselves to be formidable enemies of the Negaverse, neither of us will force you to do it. But if anyone wants to join the fight, let me know starting now."

I felt like I was rooted to my seat by the desire to get out of the whole mess and look after myself. But I remembered what Amy had told me in my hotel room, how I had responded, and how firmly she'd gotten me to believe in myself then. So at that moment, all doubt and reserve left me, and I stood up. Everyone else, all seated except for Amy, looked at me, and I cleared my throat and set my face and heart.

"I'm in, Amy." I said. "You know why already, but in case I don't make it, I want you to tell my mom that I died with my face to the enemy."

Cheers resonated around the room.  
"Brilliant!" Ryan yelled. "We'd like to come as well, but we're all just…"  
"I know, we're all a little scared." I said before going on. I liked to be a vocal leader like Roy, but I wasn't yet totally eloquent as a pep talker, and so I found myself saying (though I meant it), "But that's when you've got to forget your fear and think about everyone who's putting their lives in our hands. Gosh, I don't know where to start." Then I pulled it together, pacing around the center of the room, meeting everybody's eyes as I went.

"Guys, I know the events of the last 24 hours have been extremely tense. The media attention, the fan attention, and God knows what else have all been pressing down on us like the weight of the world. But let's not worry about that now. Let's think about what could happen next Wednesday.

"I know we don't profess to be men of war, soldiers, or even good men with guns or swords. But I do know we profess to be men who can almost work magic with soccer balls-and who are also warriors on the field."

Amy spoke again. "Ever heard of the media calling you the 'Red Devils'? Well, forget it. Last Wednesday night, you became the Red Angels. If we decide to volunteer ourselves for another possible fight, the good part is that we're going to have the chance to give a hand in saving countless lives. The downside to that is that we'll be marked for death. We can count on the Negaverse to throw everything but the kitchen sink at us. We'll have to play our hearts out to win-and then some, probably-and then again, that might not be enough for us to live."

The others were silent. Amy said,  
"If you don't want to do it, I'm fine with that. Like I said, you've done all that's been expected of you and then some. But remember, Serena and I can't do this alone-"  
"And I'll admit I'm not enough to help them, either." I said seriously.  
Amy grinned slightly at me and then told the team at large, "I'd like to borrow from Winston Churchill. 'Never has so much been owed to so few.'"

David stepped forward. "That does it. Count me in. And lads…" He paused, looking around. "Soon, we're going to be in a hotel that's in the same neighborhood as Trafalgar Square, and I was thinking about a famous saying from a special chap who has his statue there until Britain should fall. 'England expects every man to do his duty.'"

David may prefer to lead by example, but he can say the big words when he needs to and when his teammates need to hear them—and we needed someone to break the ice emphatically like that even after I had volunteered again.

The locker room burst forth with renewed cheers when David cited Lord Horatio Nelson. Paul, Rio Ferdinand, the Nevilles, and Nicky clapped the loudest for their Team England captain, and then stood up. Paul said, "You said it truly, Becks—England expects every man to do his duty. And after all, this is at Wembley, so I actually think we're morally obliged to fight as English internationals. We're coming, too."  
Rio then spoke up. "I'd like to borrow from someone at the London Club back when Churchill was PM. Forget the Champions League final or even the World Cup final-this is one of the biggest finals one can ask to play in, and it's to be played on the Home Ground, at Wembley. Becks and Paul've said it already-I'm in."  
Gary added, "No one has successfully invaded Britain since William the Conqueror-not Napoleon, not Hitler, and if I have any say in it, not Queen Beryl." He walked up to Amy, took a knee, and lowered his head. "At your service, Amy."  
Amy grinned at him. "I may be a princess, Gary, and I appreciate that, but now is not the time for that."  
Gary's brother Philip was the next to speak. "You mean if **we** have any say in it, Gary." Gary looked up and smiled.  
Roy was the next to stand. "One international-caliber captain is in, and you lads aren't going with Amy without the other one. And lads, even if we die in the process of winning, at least we'll die as truly one of the best teams in Europe. We're not Manchester United for nothing."  
"No, madam, we're ruddy well not." Ryan said, standing up and grinning at Amy.  
"Count me in, too." Another voice said.  
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had now stood up and was smiling at Amy. She smiled back, and I couldn't help smiling too. Ole—long known as a baby-faced assassin to United players and fans—had already made himself an immortal in Manchester United annals for scoring the game-winner against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final in Barcelona with a matter of seconds remaining.

Within two minutes of Ole getting up, everyone in the room was on his or her feet, from Coach Ferguson to Phillip and Darren Fletcher to David and Paul.  
Amy looked around the room and smiled at all of us, and we grinned back. "It's going to be an honor sharing the field of battle with you. Thank you so much for doing this."  
"Thanks, but you chose to come to Manchester and help us and our fans before we decided to help you. Thank **you**." David said.

"Hang on, the Juventus-Barcelona match should be over now!" Rio yelled. "What's going on over there?"  
"It's not over yet, lads! It's in extra time!" Phillip yelled from the doorway to the tunnel. Apparently, he had stepped out without us noticing to check on the match, and was just coming back to tell us the latest news and score.  
"Well, let's go see!" Ryan said to shouts of assent.

Hurriedly, a TV was carried into the dressing room, plugged in, and tuned to the match.  
"I wonder who's going to help Sailor Moon." Ruud remarked as we sat down.  
"Probably the team that wins." Amy answered. "What's the score?"  
"1-all when I last checked, and that was at full time." Phillip said. "So it's 2-2 on aggregate."  
The captains were meeting at center field.  
"Barca's got Luis Enrique, a Spanish international midfield player, and Juventus has…" David said.  
"That's not their normal captain." I said.  
"That's not?" Amy asked.  
"No, Amy." David said, and he explained, "The one they have out there is Ciro Ferrara, an Italian defender who I hear was Juventus skipper before the current one arrived at the club."  
"Who is the current Juventus captain?" Amy asked.  
"Alessandro Del Piero." I said. "Heard of him?"  
"A little bit." Amy answered. "I hear he's this midfielder and forward who plays for Italy, so it sounds like he's really good."  
"He is." Ole piped up. "We played Juventus one time in '97 and he scored after only 22 or so seconds. It was the fastest goal in Champions League history until this year."  
"Where is he, though?" I asked. "I didn't hear anything about him being out tonight because of injury."  
Amy quickly pulled out the mini supercomputer again and accessed the UEFA website, which provides up-to-the-minute coverage.  
"He's been subbed out." She answered. "I'll tell you what, though, this overtime is going to hinder whoever wants to help Serena if it comes to that."  
"You're right." Ryan said, nodding gravely. "Well, let's just hope that this only takes 15 more minutes instead of 30."  
"I hear Europe's using a new 'silver goal' overtime system." Amy told him. "What's that about?"

While Ryan filled Amy in, David, Gary, and I chatted about who might be the better companions between Juventus and Barcelona for the battle after the semifinal 1st leg. As we watched, it appeared that Juventus was hanging in there with a little more tenacity than that of Barcelona, which was surprising.  
"Barcelona hasn't lost all year in the Champions League." I said. "Do you think they'd make better teammates if they decided to help?" I asked the others.  
"Maybe, but also perhaps not." Coach Ferguson remarked. "Don't forget that they have a new manager and they can't count much on their record in La Liga to boost their morale."  
"Good point!" I told him. Over my stay at United, I had been slightly ambivalent towards Coach Ferguson, as I disliked his probably being involved in that feud he might have had with David (and as David was and is my favorite player, anyone who tried taking him down had me to answer to) but admired his dedication to United and his penchant for turning out good results. Even if I disagreed with him on certain issues, I was still on his side numerous times, he had been a good coach to me and the team, and I would have wanted nobody else in the world to be our head coach ahead of the upcoming battle at Wembley. After all, he was the man who had a knighthood under his belt after helping United win the legendary 1999 treble consisting of the English Premier League title, the FA Cup (the English national championship knockout tourney, the oldest single-elimination soccer tournament in the world), and the Champions League title, United's first since the Matt Busby era way back in the day. By the way, that time around the block, he was telling the truth because under Louis Van Gaal, Barcelona had rocketed out of the gate in the Champions League but had sputtered in domestic play, prompting Van Gaal to step down midway through the season.

If Coach Ferguson was a professor of soccer and Ryan and Rio were teaching assistants, though, Amy was a star student. During the overtime (extra time), she was constantly chatting with them to get information on the various Juventus and Barcelona players. "I know a bit about Edgar Davids and Lilian Thuram." She said. "They're strong and fast, from what I've seen about them."  
"They are indeed." Paul answered. "Edgar's got a little more power, but he's got a lot of finesse too. I hear he got that from his days growing up playing on the streets of Amsterdam. Lilian's got a little more speed, and he can really make big defensive stops. Also, he's a good attacker in his own right with either a cross or a shot."  
"What about David Trezeguet and Pavel Nedved?"  
"Well, David became a big name all over Europe when he scored the game-winner—ironically, for France against Italy—in the final of Euro 2000. He's a terrific shooter and finisher, while Nedved—who captains the Czech Republic—also has a terrific shot and plays hard to the last. Quite a few are talking about him being European Footballer of the Year." Paul answered.  
"I can understand that." Amy said. "Look at him—still running hard even after 110 minutes! Hey, look at that pass!"  
Pavel had hit it from his left-wing position to the right wing, where a Juventus substitute named Alessandro Birindelli took it and whipped a cross into the area, where a Juventus striker whom I hadn't seen before touched it home with a tricky volley in triple coverage.  
"Oy, look!" David said. "Juventus just scored! Who is that lad? He looks like he's about Carlo's age!"  
"Filippo Dibari?" Coach Ferguson asked. "He's their new ace substitute striker, he **is** about Carlo's age, and he had a big performance against Basel like Carlo did."  
My head suddenly spun wildly. **Filippo?  
**"Hang on, I think I know him!" I exclaimed.  
"What? How?" Paul asked.  
"We were once classmates back home." I said. We had been classmates in 9th grade at Reynolds before Filippo moved back to Italy. It had been that year that we played keep-away against each other a lot (which he was a lot better at than I was back then), and it had also been that year that we had found out about each other's favorite teams, as I found out he idolized Juventus and he found out I was a big Manchester United fan. Seeing him again was quite a shock, and the realization that we were on a collision course in the Champions League semis with our favorite clubs was even more startling.

Before I could tell my friends more about Filippo, however, the full-time whistle blew just before a familiar-looking ominous figure took the field.  
Everyone seemed frozen for a minute at the second monster's appearance before Filippo began shouting at his teammates and motioning with his hands for them to stay on the pitch. Meanwhile, Alessandro Del Piero had also come back onto the field, donning the captain's armband again and chatting quickly with Luis Enrique.  
"Looks like Juventus wants to do this fight themselves!" Amy said. "Who do they have?"  
"Let's see..." David peered. "Del Piero, Trezeguet, Dibari, Davids, Nedved, Ferrara, and Thuram."  
"Looks good..." Amy said. "Come on, Serena, where are you?"  
Juventus began to hold the monster off as Barcelona cleared the pitch. Many of the fans, however, remained rooted to their seats just as like the ones at Old Trafford the night before.  
This monster in particular was creating defenders at a very fast pace, and even though Juventus was getting in its licks thanks to some terrific team and individual moves, especially from Alessandro, Filippo, and Edgar, they looked as if they would be swamped any minute.  
Then, suddenly, for no apparent reason, they parted ranks.  
"What's going on? Why are they clearing the center?" Paul asked.  
"It's Serena!" Amy answered, suddenly smiling again.  
Before we could say anything else, a blinding flash of pink light illuminated the screen. The shapes of several hearts fluttered here and there, and when the flash vanished, the monster was left unprotected.  
"Was that Sailor Moon?" Ryan asked, bewildered.  
"It was!" Rio exclaimed. "Look!"  
For the second time in 24 hours, gasps resonated around that dressing room.

The camera had moved to the left to reveal the figure we had seen in Amy's photograph the previous night, only she was in that unmistakable red, white, and blue sailor suit. Even over the tube, I could sense an aura of power and determination even stronger than Amy's as we beheld Sailor Moon's radiant but determined face.

"My God." Rio said. "It's **her!** It's **really her!**" His voice was growing increasingly high-pitched.  
"Oh, man, look at that face!" I said, referring not only to her beauty but also her expression while still marveling at the sheer power of that latest Rainbow Spiral Moon Heartache.  
"Typical Serena." Amy said fondly. "She always likes to make an entrance."  
The Juventus players were flocking around Sailor Moon now with excited looks on their faces. I suddenly realized that they probably knew something like this might be coming, even though they might not have known who she was beforehand. The chatter didn't last long, though, as the fight began to pick up again as eight fresh defenders engaged them.

While us United players fought with Sailor Mercury in a free-flowing and offensively based style resembling the lightning-fast English style, Juventus pulled some pages out of the Italian book on _calcio_ (Italian for soccer) and placed a little more emphasis on defense. While Pavel, Filippo, Alessandro, and David assaulted the monster, at least one of the others-Ciro, Lillian, and Edgar-was parked at the back at all times, ready to scythe down anyone who tried taking a shot at Sailor Moon, who, like Sailor Mercury, was hitting the monsters with attacks to whittle their numbers down.

As the battle wore on and the goals piled up again, the enemy began to think that if they beat up the Juventus players, then Sailor Moon would have trouble beating them herself. As a result, they started getting extremely physical with them. Pavel was having a particularly rough time as he was hit twice with body checks and looked to be down and out as two more defenders steamed in on him, but then suddenly out of nowhere, Sailor Moon did her best impression of Roy or Rio and took out one of them hard with a terrific challenge before whirling around right into a Moon Tiara Magic to blast the other one out and leave the remaining defenders stymied.   
Back in the dressing room at Old Trafford, Amy and the rest of us, like the fans at the Camp Nou, had gone absolutely wild over Sailor Moon's world-class double challenge.   
"Yeah, nice, Serena!" Amy yelled. "Great play! You show them!"  
"What a superb stop!" Gary shouted, clapping hard.  
"I tell you, I wouldn't fancy being the scumbags who were on the wrong end of that tackle and that blast." Roy said earnestly.  
While Pavel was helped to his feet (he would continue playing), Juventus seemed to be inspired by that double takeout as Sailor Moon gave a shout that appeared to be half encouragement for Juventus and half taunting of the monster and his cohorts. As the Juve players became increasingly combative (Edgar and Filippo both had started to volley into the chests and heads of the defenders before shooting) and Sailor Moon continually hammered anyone who succeded in landing a blow on any of the Juventus contingent, the enemy began to be disheartened asthey dare nottry to lay out anyone for fear of getting nailed by Sailor Moon or another player. Adding to the Negaverse force's woes, Sailor Moon was now getting more adventurous with her attacking, as she now often made runs forward and finished with increasingly confident headers and developing volleys, and because she and Juventus had turned the jets up, they were slow to take her on.

After five more minutes, Filippo ran up the center and did an amazing Johan Cruyff dummy turn (a move named after the legendary Dutch international, where a player fakes a shot or pass, traps the ball, and does an about face in one fluid movement) and stopped the ball eight yards or so right in front of the monster. Sailor Moon started a run-up to the ball just as a defender parked himself in front of the shield. As we held our breath, she hit the "penalty" low and hard right down the middle as the "keeper" dived to one side, shattering the shield.

"Well-taken penalty!" David said fervently as the rest of us cheered. "Okay, now finish that bloke off!"  
He-or we, for that matter-didn't have to wait long. Juventus quickly pulled back, and after Sailor Moon took a parting verbal shot at the enemy, she began charging up **another** Rainbow Spiral Moon Heartache. Once the screen flashed pink and then returned to normal, we saw the column of light vanish along with the rest of the Negaverse team.

The Juventus fans who made the trip went absolutely berserk, and even the Barcelona fans couldn't help cheering as Sailor Moon was surrounded on all sides in a Juventus group hug. The actualItalians-Alessandro, Ciro, and Filippo-were particularly jubilant, as I could have sworn they each kissed Sailor Moon on both cheeks. Over in Manchester, cheering and applause reigned in the locker room.

"What do you think?" I asked once the room had quieted down. "Did we get the right 'teammates'..." I said, using my fingers to mime quote marks, "...in Juventus?"  
"I absolutely think we got the best teammates we could ask for." Amy said. "Juventus is terrific by itself on any given day, but they're finding their zone and now they've got Serena to help them, so that's even better news."

In the next chapter-"The Run-Up":  
A Sailor Scout who once called London home comes into the picture, while the teams prepare for the semifinal and what may come after. Also, Amy takes that walk with Carlo on the streets of London. How alike are the two, and if they are alike, what advice does Amy offer to her United counterpart (for that matter, what can people in general learn from Amy?)


	4. The RunUp

Author's Note: A kind reminder that American names are used in this story (Amy is Ami, Serena is Usagi, Raye is Rei, Lita is Makoto, and Mina is Minako). Also, for those new to European soccer, Juventus is arguably the best team in Italy's Serie A.

The next day, Friday, we boarded a passenger jet to London, with Amy buying her ticket with some money that our travel office had given her. We had already caught a break-literally-ahead of the upcoming match because the guys didn't have to play a league match over the weekend, meaning we had more time to prepare for Juventus and the Negaverse showdown.

Friday was basically just traveling to London and checking into the Savoy, in Covent Garden on the northern bank of the Thames only two blocks or so from Trafalgar Square. Until, that is, we had a team dinner of fish and chips. In order for us to remain inconspicuous and deter suspicions that Amy was no ordinary friend of ours, we had split up into groups and gotten the fish and chips at various restaurants around the area before we met back at the lobby.  
It was a bit of a strange sight, all of us hanging around the lobby, chatting over that British delicacy. For my part, I enjoyed it, and we were able to talk as a bunch of friends and have some light moments, including when Amy asked before she touched her fish and chips, "This isn't yellow-tailed tuna, is it?"  
"I don't think so, Amy." Gary said. "If it is, though, we can switch." He showed Amy his unwrapped stuff, revealing that he hadn't touched it yet.  
"Thanks, Gary." Amy said, smiling.  
"No problem, Amy." Gary said, grinning back.

We began practices at Wembley on Saturday, keeping everything behind closed doors.  
"Well, time to prepare for war." I said as we suited up in the locker room. "Wonder what Amy's doing today." I added, pensively.  
"She should be here any minute now just as soon as she gets her gear." Ryan said.  
"What?" I asked. "What are you talking about?"  
"She asked me last night if she could suit up and practice with us, and I answered, 'Why not?' I then talked to the manager (Coach Ferguson) and he said yes, too."  
"Did you say Amy's going to practice with us, Giggsy?" Gary asked.  
"Absolutely!" Ryan said.  
The place began to bubble with anticipation. I could hear snatches of conversation, saying,  
"I wonder how good she is."  
"Wonder what position she plays."  
"She looked like a good player at Old Trafford, so she's got to be good. How many lasses can score from 20 meters while wearing heels?"  
Just then, Amy walked in carrying a Manchester United duffel bag with Rio and Ole at her heels.  
"Good morning, everybody!" She said cheerfully, dropping the duffel bag onto a nearby bench.  
"You're practicing with us?" I asked, still shocked as the others returned her greeting.  
"Yeah." She answered, still smiling as she turned to me. "I figured we needed to keep the team loose, so me being there would allow us to have fun while preparing while helping me get some endurance for the upcoming fight."  
"Great idea! Thanks a lot for wanting to do this!" I said enthusiastically.  
"You're welcome. I wonder what Wembley looks like from the field." Amy answered.  
Once all the guys, myself included, had suited up (my outfit was black wind pants and a black United windbreaker, while my shoes were blue Mercurial Vapor Nike IDs with my name on them), we looked at Amy.  
"Why aren't you suiting up yet?" Phillip asked.  
"She's a girl who's got to use a men's locker room, for heaven's sake!" Rio roared at him.  
"You're right." Roy said. "Okay, lads, everybody out-and don't even think of turning your heads!"  
I laughed at the thought of professional soccer players turning around and trying to spy on Amy while she was changing.  
We lined the tunnel until she came out. Finally, she stepped out-and made some of us whistle. She was wearing a white United short-sleeved shirt and black Japanese gym class briefs with socks, shinguards, and Adidas Predator shoes. It looked a lot like a Japanese gym uniform, only she was wearing a white United shirt, soccer cleats, and shinguards.  
"Are you guys ready to start warming up?" Amy asked.  
"Uh, we might be a while because some of the fellas are still looking you up and down." I answered earnestly, grinning and laughing slightly. Some of the guys were still doing just that, including Rio, who remarked, "Blimey, she really does look good in soccer gear!"  
"Yes indeed, Rio, but this is not the time for that." David said. Rio quickly backed off and got into practice mode with the rest of us.

In order to prepare for the battle, we went through scrimmages after our normal scrimmages. In these added scrimmages, those who would be our lead fighters went up against other players and tried to score as many goals as possible over a given span. It was a grind that left us tired, but we didn't feel all the heat because Amy was doing the workouts and training with us.

When we scrimmaged, it was something of an odd sight-a girl running around in Japanese gym class briefs and a United training shirt against some of our best players-and these were and are some of the best in the world-during practice and holding her own-and then some.  
Amy can play any position on the field, but she performs the best at defender or midfielder. She especially shines when she is put on the wing, because her swimming skill lends her the speed to keep up with United players-and we were supposed to be the best team in the speedy English Premier League! Whether she was matched against Ryan, David, Mickael Silvestre, or Gary, she could run with them on offense or defense and more often than not stop the move in progress or beat them one-on-one. In soccer terms, she's a female combination of Roberto Carlos and Luis Figo because she can make an impact offensively or defensively with a mix of unerring, fluid technique and expert instinct. What made her even deadlier was that when she was scrimmaging against us, she picked up moves as if she was Brazilian, Argentinean, or French.  
In our very first scrimmage, she got the ball out on the right against Ryan, who got into a defensive stance. Amy quickly flashed a right-left double stepover that faked him out, sent him the wrong way for a split second, and provided all the time Amy needed to streak past him as we yelled, groaned, "ooh"ed, and "aah"ed.  
"Oh, man!" I said, clutching my head slightly. "Ryan, you got schooled!"  
"More like Giggsy got freezerburn!" David said. I found myself laughing harder with the others, even Ryan, when I got David's reference to Amy's powers at Sailor Mercury. That term immediately ended up sticking with us: if Amy beat you with a move, you weren't "burned," you were "freezerburned." Over the next several days, the list of Amy's victims grew-and her methods became even nastier. She nutmegged Rio that day, flicked it over Roy the next day (even he laughed at getting schooled by Amy), and scored on Fabien Barthez off an amazing right-footed volley that same day.

That Monday, David walked in holding a piece of folded-up fabric.  
"Look at this!" He said in a semi-disgusted tone, and he flipped it open.  
It was a dual-team souvenir scarf for the upcoming match. On the left side, which had a red background, was a United emblem with the blue Mercury sign to its left. Underneath that was "Manchester United FC" and underneath that was "Guardians of Mercury". On the right side, which had a black background, was a Juventus emblem with a yellow crescent moon to the right of it. Underneath that was "Juventus FC" and underneath that was "Guardians of the Moon". In the middle was the Moon Pendant design set over the European Club Champions' Cup (the Champions League trophy) and at the top was "UEFA Champions League Semifinal 1st Leg-The Sailor Scout Derby" and underneath the cup was "Wembley Stadium, London, 9 April 2003".  
I felt a streak of pride at the realization that we, Sailor Mercury's friends, were getting to play Juventus, Sailor Moon's friends, but it was immediately stifled by realization that we would have to fight together.  
"Oh, no." I said. "God, we don't need this." I said. Some of the others were also saying things in the vein of, "Oh, sod it!" Not soon after, Amy showed up.  
"What's going on?" She asked.  
"Some people are getting almost too enthusiastic over the match tomorrow." David said. He showed her the scarf.  
Amy made no effort to conceal a frown. She said mildly but meaningfully, "Could I see it, please?"  
David handed it over to her, and she tossed it in the trash can in the corner of the room in a manner that told us she was ticked off slightlyto say the least at theway the match was being promoted as a battle between her and Serena. It was startling because it was the first time we'd ever seen Amy even slightly mad when she wasn't Sailor Mercury.  
She then turned back to David while she worked her face as if to avoid losing it. "How's the team been reacting to the hype over the Juventus match?" She asked.  
"Well, Manchester United-Juventus has always been something of a rivalry, but this time, we aren't looking ahead to the match as we are to the battle." David replied truthfully. "Though we are excited at playing a Juventus that's getting help from Serena." He added with a cautious grin.  
"That's okay." Amy said, starting to grin again. "It's okay if this remains a friendly competition, and don't get me wrong, I'd like to see you guys beat Juventus and I'd like to measure the job I'm doing with you against the job Serena's doing with Juventus, but the last thing we want this to be is a grudge match because then we won't be able to fight as efficiently."

Luckily, she only had to make a few nudges like that to keep us in line. I don't know what we would have done without Amy-not only as Sailor Mercury, but as a friend. If God had sent an angel down to Earth to help us out, then Amy was that angel. As Wednesday approached, Amy made friends with many of us-basically, the whole lot of us fell over her. She became more than our protector-she also became an advisor, a training partner, and a pretty girl who would give you an encouraging smile when times got rough. As it turns out, she had to cheer up basically everybody at some time or another, but she handled it all admirably. Her task was made easier by the fact that all of us found it easy to confide our fears to her because she was so good at dissipating them.

"Becks was right-she's really good at loosening a lad up!" Paul told me.  
"Who needed her help just a moment ago?" I asked.  
"Ole." He answered. "He was getting a case of pre-match butterflies."  
"What did she tell him?" I asked.  
"She gave him this really caring look and said, 'I'm sure you didn't use up all your magic in Barcelona four years ago, so don't worry about it too much.' He started grinning at her."

Aside from scrimmaging and practicing with us, Amy also helped outline our formation and lineups for when we would team up with Sailor Moon and Juventus.  
"Serena says Juventus has added Marco Di Vaio, Paolo Montero, Mauro Camoranesi, and Gianluca Zambrotta to their 'starters' for the battle." She told us during a break when we were gathered around her. "So we have six forwards, ten midfielders, and five defenders. What we'll do is have in only one more player than the Negaverse has defenders-like if they have five, we'll have six, and if they have ten, we'll have eleven."  
She then ran through our roles.  
"Let's start from the front. Ruud, can you play on the right?" Amy asked.  
"Yes, Amy. I sometimes do that for Holland when Patrick (Kluivert, then of Barcelona) is in for us."  
"Okay, you do that if the left side is filled up. Ole, we may be stacked up with our forwards, but Coach Ferguson tells me you can play the right of midfield. Can you do that if we have a bunch of strikers in there?"  
"Absolutely." Ole replied.  
"Ryan, Serena thinks-and I agree with her on this-that Juventus lacks a good player that will stick to left midfielder throughout the fight. You don't have a problem with that, do you?" She added, grinning.  
"Definitely not." Ryan said, grinning.  
"I thought so. Nicky, what midfield role do you prefer?"  
"Defensive holding." Nicky answered.  
"What do you mean by defensive holding?" Amy asked.  
"I stay behind say, Giggsy, Keano, Carlo, Scholesy, and Becks-still in midfield but not quite a defender." Nicky explained.  
"Great." Amy said. "Okay, you get that. Roy, I'm told you play as a defender sometimes."  
"Yeah, I do." Roy said, talking as if Amy was the United captain instead of him (such was the way we all respected her.) "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and I do admit I prefer midfield."  
"Okay, you'll play in the center, then. Paul, can you do the same?"  
"I can do that, and I can move to the hole behind our strikers if Carlo or Nedved can't be in."  
"Excellent!" She said. "And Becks...Mauro prefers the right wing, so if he's in, you're playing in the center."  
"Great!" David said fervently. I had known for a while about his desire to play in the center since he'd explained it to me before the match against Real Madrid.  
"Okay! Carlo-" She began.  
"I like playing attacking midfielder in the center, but I can drop back with the rest if Pavel wants to go in the hole." I said briskly.  
Amy grinned. "And Phillip..." She said, putting her hand to her mouth. "Would you rather be a midfielder or defender?"  
"I can do either, so I'm sure I can plug any gaps there if we get them." He said confidently.  
"Great. And Rio and Gary both stay at the back. Now, Gary, I hear that Lilian may switch between a central defender and a right-wing defender, so you guys will be interchangeables, okay?"  
"Right." They said.  
On Tuesday, I found myself first facing Amy and then playing alongside her. When she was playing as a central midfielder and trying to run the ball out of her team's penalty area, I got in front of her to keep the pressure on. She flashed the left-right stepover again, but I didn't bite right away. When she motioned towards my left (her right) after the move, I went for the ball, but Amy suddenly made this amazingly fluid transition right into a spin move and flicked the ball around my right with her heel before racing upfield.  
"Oh, darn!" I yelled playfully, grinning in spite of the fact that I'd gotten schooled as the groans, yells, "ooh"s and "aah"s echoed around Wembley again.  
"Pick up your marking, lads! She's gotten Carlo now!" Ryan yelled, still chuckling a bit.  
Later on, Amy was playing alongside me, Rio, David, Ryan, and Paul in a small-scale scrimmage. I found myself on the edge of the penalty area with Phillip on me. Amy was playing defensive midfield and had Roy marking her, so she was lurking behind me while Roy tried lending a body on her. Without warning, she made a run forward and opened up some room on Roy. I was and am nowhere near as good of a passer as David is, but I could do a good one-two or play a through ball into open space. Amy feinted right and flashed past Roy to the left, and I hit her with a perfect through ball inside the penalty area that she stuck home with a one-touch shot as the others cheered.

Soon after that, practice ended, and I started walking off the pitch with a grin on my face and Ryan beside me. Soon, though, Ryan jolted me with a sensitive question.  
"Do you fancy Amy?" Ryan asked.  
"What?" I asked him, not sure if I'd heard him right and feeling slightly startled.  
"Do you fancy Amy?" Ryan asked again, a mischievous smile on his face.  
I stopped dead for a minute and began to think. "Uh..." I said, my face starting to turn red slightly.  
By now, some others had crowded around me, and I blushed even more before calming down enough to think, **Well, man, you _do_ like her a lot because you've got some stuff in common with her _and_ she's beautiful _and_ she's smart _and_ she's caring _and_ she's brave...  
**I looked up at them. "I think so."  
David pounded me on the back, much to my surprise. "Why wouldn't you? You're smart like she is, you're as shy when talking about girls as she is when she talks about lads..."  
"For all the world, you two could be related!" Ryan said.  
**Hmm...** I thought. When Ryan joked about me possibly being related to Amy, I had a momentary vision of myself as a boy colonel leading my regiment in a military parade on Mercury and waving at Princess Ame (Author's note: Aside from Princess Serenity, I don't know what the others' princess names are).  
"Now that would be crazy." I said, fervently.  
"Not as crazy as it would be if she fancies you too, Carlo." Rio cracked.  
Everyone laughed, including me. "Oh, come off it!" I yelled playfully, laughing and grinning at that thought, but adding. "With all she's got, she's got to have a boyfriend back home already."  
"Oy, pipe down!" Gary hissed. "Look!"  
Amy had turned around in the tunnel and was looking at us with a curious look. As I saw the others around me grin somewhat innocently, I found myself yelling, "Hey, nice move today!" I also found myself grinning sincerely.  
Amy winked at me and called back, "Thanks! Nice pass today!" She was smiling with her mouth open by now, which I consider her prettiest smile. She then turned again and was off down the tunnel.

"Oh, my giddy aunt." Gary said tremulously. "She does fancy you!"  
"Oh, stop it." I said dismissively.  
"I'm serious! She probably even fancies doing something with you tonight!" He insisted.  
"Even if she really liked me back, would she want to date me right before you-know-what tomorrow night?" I asked.  
"I think you'd be surprised, mate." Paul said.  
"Is this what you guys did to David when he started seeing Victoria?" I asked, almost in a snapping tone.  
"Yes!" He fired back. David gave him a look, and Gary looked at him and said, "I was joking!" David started to grin, and Gary turned back to me and said, "No, we didn't bother him about it that much, but did you expect all of us to be quiet when Becks admitted he fancied a Spice Girl, for heaven's sake?" Gary asked.

That night, I sat in my room thinking about the upcoming match-and the battle that would follow. I was still a little stressed, but I thought, **Well, you can't say you and the others haven't done everything you can to prepare for that fight. **Then I thought, **Are we really going to win tomorrow night?** A firm voice seemed to rise up and say, **Remember that feeling you had at Old Trafford that night? You knew as well as anyone that Sailor Mercury wasn't going to let you lose. Just believe in yourself and your teammates!**  
Just then, there was a knock on the door.  
"So, how about that walk?" Amy asked. She was dressed in a dark blue pleated skirt with a yellow blouse, slim red tie, and those oxfords (with no socks again.)  
"Sure." I said, remembering how I'd agreed to take the walk in Manchester.  
I immediately found myself loosening up because I was now getting nervous over screwing myself up in front of her-which was less trivial than having a bad performance tomorrow, though not by much. But hanging around her is always fun, because when I'm with Amy, I'm not a kid prodigy playing with Manchester United, but rather just a kid who got to live a dream by meeting her and having chats with her. What made things even crazier was that I had her as a fan. Maybe that's what you need to keep a relationship going-mutual respect.  
While we were in the hall, we passed Rio and Gary.  
"Enjoy your date!" Rio said, grinning and chuckling.  
"This is **not** a God-darn date!" I said, in an annoyed but also playful tone.  
"Well, consider it practice." Amy said. "I'm a little shy around guys, too."  
"I've heard." I said.  
"Oh." Gary said. "Oy, Amy, take care of Carlo, okay?"

One more thing I like about London is that it's like Los Angeles or New York: There's so many famous people in town that you can get some time to yourself. I like the opportunity to be in the spotlight, but I don't like an autograph book in my face sixteen hours a day. Because I was getting to chill out-with Amy, no less (no pun intended)-I felt almost as loose as if there was no fight the next evening.  
"So, what's your birthday?" Amy asked as we stepped outside the Savoy.  
"January 14th." I answered as we turned right and began walking.  
"Hey, you're a Capricorn, just like Serena!" Amy said. "Of course, I don't go for horoscopes that much, but I can't help noticing. Where were you born?"  
"Manhattan." I said. "Mom and Dad say I was born with snow on the ground."  
"I like that sign." Amy said. "My mom told me once that snow on the ground at birth can mark trustworthy people. What else do you do besides soccer?"  
"I'm with the Math Academic Team back at Reynolds." I said.  
"Math?" Amy replied. "My favorite subject! What course are you finishing?"  
"Honors Algebra II." I answered.  
"And your grades?"  
"I'm an A/B student, but I get straight A's every now and then." I replied. "Of course, I'm prepared to bet you could ace AP Calculus already…"  
"Many people tell me I could do something like that, but it still sounds tough." Amy replied. "So we're also both big-city people-you're from New York, and I'm from Tokyo."  
"I guess you could say that." I said. "I've always liked visiting a metropolis."  
"Why?" Amy asked. "Because of the liveliness?"  
"Lord yes." I said.  
"Me too, though I don't like to stay downtown all the time." She replied. "Say, you're from Manhattan…where were you on September 11?"  
"I'd just put my stuff down in French." I said. "I remember looking up at the TV, seeing the World Trade Center burning, and saying 'Oh, my God!'" My face clouded for a minute as I remembered the shock and the dreadful sensation that had made me feel as if I'd lost my innocence.  
"Well, it was even more of a bad wakeup call because it was the day after my birthday." Amy said. "I was thankful nobody I knew was hurt, but I was sad over what Americans were going through for the next few months."

"Thanks." I said, knowing Amy was the sort of person who would be so sincere that you couldn't help wanting to talk a bit more.

"And you're also shy around the opposite gender, like I am!" She said, seeking to change the subject.  
"Yeah…" I said, shifting uncomfortably and appreciating the tactic. "It was just this thing I saw in middle school that preached abstinence. Right then, I made up my mind not to get in too deep too fast with a girl, so I've been hesitant to decide about who I really like and I also get as sheepish around girls when I think they're flirting with me as you do around boys from what I've heard."  
"Yeah, well, it's almost unnatural, isn't it?" Amy asked. "I mean, we both are smart big-city people who like math and are shy around relationships-"  
"Oh, yeah." I said, chuckling. "Not to mention both teased at times because of that intelligence, from what I've heard. Ryan was just joking around with me today about you and I possibly being related because of all these similarities. Frankly, though, I think having a past life as a colonel in an army on Mercury is a bit off the chart for me."  
"No, you've got a lot of me in you, but you've got traces of my friends as well, so if you were related to any of us, it would be complex and not that direct." She said. "I mean, you've got a bit of Serena in being able to lead in high-pressure situations even if you're a bit aloof, a bit of Raye and Lita in that you can get emotional, and you enjoy the spotlight like Mina does." She paused, then added, "Oh, speaking of Mina, I forgot to tell you...we just got a third in Europe with Arsenal Ladies."

"What?" I asked, bewildered. "I didn't hear anything about a fight involving Arsenal Ladies! What happened?"  
"She was in London last week and there was an attack during a practice session. It was easier to hush up, which we wanted to do to keep the guys focused on the task at hand. She's with the team in Frankfurt now for their match against Frankfurt tomorrow night."  
"Wow..." I said, whistling at the thought of it.

We kept walking and talking for a while, now about less important subjects again,laughing and grinning in all the right places.  
"Have you eaten yet?" Amy asked.  
"Uh, no. I wasn't exactly hungry when we got out. Guess I could something to keep my strength up for tomorrow."  
"Okay, let's go see if there's a good restaurant around here."  
We had hardly walked two blocks when I spotted a good-looking sandwich bar. Suddenly remembering what her favorite food was, I pointed.

Within ten minutes, I was talking to Amy over a roast beef sandwich on my side and a turkey sandwich on Amy's. She had a bottle of iced tea, while I had a can of Pepsi open. After some more conversation, it was getting evident that this "practice date" was off the chart. Soon, though, Amy looked at me and asked, "Can I tell you something?"  
"Sure." I said earnestly, putting down my Pepsi and listening intently.

"I haven't told anyone else about this, but this has been a learning experience for me, too." She said.  
"Why do you say that?"  
"Well, as you know, most of the time, I only have to play a supporting role when I'm with Serena and the other Scouts. This particular adventure-working with Manchester United-is the first time I've had to take charge while on my own. I really have to admit I was a little scared when I arrived in England about not being a good leader, but I'm thankful that hasn't been true so far because you guys have been so receptive and cooperative." She finished.  
"Well, perhaps more than anything, you decided to get out there at Old Trafford and be the first to fight when you knew you might not get any help-when you knew you might be fighting a battle you couldn't win, for all the world-to save us and our fans! I'm not even a Reynolds captain, but I know that only people who can lead have that quality in them. I'm pretty sure a leader needs to show he or she is willing to take one for the team before the team will take one for the leader. You've also stuck to your guns-you've been a great friend to me, David, Ryan, Paul, and the rest of the guys, and you've never asked us to do someting we knew we couldn't do. I mean, look at the meeting the night that Serena fought alongside Juventus in Barcelona! And look at the way you went over our roles yesterday! **That's** why we're **all** going to be behind you and Serena tomorrow night."  
"Thanks, Carlo." She told me.  
"No problem." I said.  
"I'll tell you, out of all the things I thought would happen, I never thought I would meet someone who knew about us."  
"Well, I guess if you keep working hard, good things like that happen. And if it's working hard at keeping the peace, you're bound to get big breaks every so often. I'm just so darn glad that big break was us." I said.  
"So, how did you hear about me, Serena, and the others?" Amy asked.  
"My cousin in Guam told me about you guys (Author's Note: I use that term loosely in real life) when I was ten. She'd found out through the grapevine about you and she's a big admirer of yours-or she was the last time I bumped into her-and I've been a fan of yours, Serena's, Raye's, Lita's, and Mina's ever since. You know what the first story she told me was?"  
"What?" She asked curiously.  
"Your first fight." I revealed.  
"Oh, what a coincidence!" Amy replied.  
"I'll say." I said. "I started taking a liking to you especially because from what I heard, you began to remind me an awful lot about me-like you said, not the best out there but the smartest and therefore often the trump card."  
"You like to bring your mind into play, don't you?" Amy asked.  
"Yeah, because any sport is high-speed chess to an extent." I replied. "You saw the match against Real last week-the reason I made that pass back to David is because he's like, the best long passer in the world and he had much more of a chance of hitting Ryan than I did." I paused momentarily and added, "But sometimes I second-guess and/or doubt myself, and when that happens, I can be almost a pedestrian talent sometimes. How do you draw the line between prudence and speed when it comes to thinking something through?"

Amy paused for a minute, evidently thinking hard. Then she turned back to me and said meaningfully, "I say it's great to think about what you're doing next. But when the enemy's right in front of you, there's no room for uncertainty or doubt. Your heart's got to be the only part of your body speaking, saying, 'I can do this!'"

"That's right." Someone said behind me in a British accent.  
Startled, we whipped around to find the English delegation to United-David, Gary, Paul, Phillip, Rio, and Nicky-behind us. Apparently, they'd snuck up behind us and had done a bit of eavesdropping on us, if only for a moment.  
"Whoa! What-oh, hey, guys!" I said, grinning in spite of the initial shock and slight annoyment at having our privacy disturbed.  
"Hi, guys." Amy said, smiling at them as they grinned back at us and sat down at the same table as us. I looked at Amy with a lingering grin.  
"What is it?" She asked.  
"Thank God I ordered Pepsi tonight instead of Coke." I said. Amy looked at David, understood, and started laughing. As it turns out, David and the others had already eaten, so they just ordered some coffee to go and walked with us to nearby Swan Lake. It felt incredibly calming to be with Amy, David, and the others at that tranquil spot as we watched some ripples in the lake and the passing boats.

"How are you guys feeling about having to fight at home?" Amy asked David and company.  
"Well, Amy, I'm very patriotic, which means I'm a proud Englishman and a proud captain of our national side. And if I know anything or learned anything from the night we volunteered, the lads and I are going to be raring to go." David said with a glint in his eye.  
"I don't doubt it." Amy said fervently.  
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say your performance is going to matter more than the performance of the other players-not including the Scouts, I mean-before it's all over.' I said just as ardently.  
"Whose performance is going to matter more?" Paul asked, puzzled.  
"Yours, Paul-I mean how well you, David, Gary, Phillip, Nicky, and Rio do."  
"I have a feeling it might be that way." Amy said.  
"Me too. I'm by no means psychic, but me too." I said.  
"Yeah...but tomorrow, we'll have to go to war for England, Amy, Serena, and the others to win." Rio said.  
"Isn't that what the mindset is every time you pull on that Three Lions shirt-that you're going to war?" I asked.  
"Oh, yes." Gary said. "You do remember that it's a friendly competition, but nothing brings your best out of you like the knowledge that your country and the hopes of your fans and loved ones live and die by your performance and the performance of your mates."

"I heard Juventus is the best team in Italy." Amy said. "Is that true?"  
"In a sense, yes." Paul said. "It's certainly the most popular. They're also the last Serie A club to win the Champions League, which they did against Ajax in Rome on a penalty shootout."  
"And they certainly did have a claim to being the best club in the world for some time." David said. "In addition to Del Piero, Juve boasted Davids, Filippo Inzaghi, Zinedine Zidane, and some other stars of the time."  
"Since then, they've lost Inzaghi to Milan and Zidane to Real Madrid, but they've brought in the likes of Nedved and Thuram, and their less prolific players are also known for playing hard until knocked out for the count." Gary added.  
"Of course, the Italian press, which is totally behind them for this match, is crowing that Juventus is going to win because they have Serena." I made my best effort to pronounce Italian, adding, "_'la capitana delle soldate carine,'_ they called her-Italian for 'captain of the pretty soldiers.'"  
"You won't believe how much they've warmed to Sailor Moon." Rio said, nodding. "The rumor is that there's a proposal circulating among the Juventus fans to make Sailor Moon their patron Scout."  
"I know we need to stand together, but I can't help thinking about that faceoff against Juventus. It almost seems fitting-us, Manchester United, the best team in classy, good-mannered England and the best at the vibrant English style **and **the friends of a Scout with athleticism and class reminiscent of the English, against Juventus, a team that has aggressiveness and fighting spirit to reflect that of Serena, who's got vivacity to rival Italian vivacity." I said.  
"Well, after what Amy said, I'll be glad that we get to fight alongside them." Rio said.

About ten minutes later,we were locked in conversation about strategy when we noticed Amy was yawning.  
"You all right, Amy?" Phillip asked.  
"Yeah...just tired." Amy said.  
"Let's get her up to her room, lads." David said. "And let's get some rest...because we do go to war tomorrow." He finished meaningfully.

In the next chapter-"Meeting Sailor Moon: God Save The Queen (Of The Moon Kingdom)":  
The faceoffs you've been waiting for! First, Manchester United takes on Juventus in the Champions League semifinal 1st leg at Wembley, and then the two unite to back Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury as the final showdown with the Negaverse kicks off after full time. How will the Scouts blend their efforts and the efforts that their friends can offer? And players transform! Who will it be and who will they become?


	5. Meeting Sailor Moon: God Save The Queen

UEFA Champions League Semifinal 1st Leg  
Wembley Stadium (English National Stadium), London, England  
Manchester United Vs. Juventus

The day of the match dawned overcast over London, though it was oddly enough slightly warm for Great Britain at the start of April.

**Well, here goes**, I thought. **Tonight, you go to war for Amy and Serena.**

We heard little from Amy before our bus pulled up outside Wembley less than three hours before kickoff except mostly a brief spiel from her at our last team meeting at the Savoy, where she had said with emphasis, "If you come with the intensity you displayed in Manchester, Queen Beryl should start saying her prayers. And just remember that **together we'll be okay**."

I had spent some time before boarding the bus reading the papers to see what they were saying about me, United, Amy, Serena, and Juventus. Pretty much every paper by now, from the _London Times_ to the _Daily Mirror_ to Italy's _La Reppublica_, was hyping up the match as the showdown between the two Sailor Scout-associated teams. Some even were billing it as the real battle for No. 1 in Europe instead of the final.

I showed up for the ride to Wembley dressed very much like I was going to school—in khaki pants, dark gray Nike sneakers, white socks going up to my upper ankles, a red Ralph Lauren Polo long-sleeved shirt, and the red corduroy jacket (front open) plus a Cubs cap (I wore it because the C stood for Carlo, but I didn't think the Cubs were a bad team.)

Hardly anyone spoke as we got into the locker room and started getting our uniforms on. My personal kit consists of my Nike ID Mercurial Vapors, a long-sleeved No. 9 shirt, and slightly longer shorts than my teammates wore. Whereas my teammates wore shorts that left their kneecaps exposed, mine went down until about a third of my kneecaps were covered. Also, we had tried a change of name and number font by wearing uniforms with the Premiership name and number font instead of the Nike font against Real Madrid, and it had worked then, so we stuck with it for the match against Juventus. Towards the end, we started kicking balls about the room while still seated like we customarily did at Old Trafford before games there, and it seemed to allay some of our tension. By now, though, I was still feeling like I couldn't sit still from all my anxiety.

Coach Ferguson then called for silence and promptly got it as every eye in the room centered on him.  
"No matter what you lads do out there against Juventus and the Negaverse, I want you to know that it has been my honor to be your manager now moreso than any other time in my career, including 1999. No matter what you do, I **know** you will make me, Amy, Serena, this club, the city of Manchester, your families, and your countries proud of you." I noticed that he was careful to make eye contact with David as he said this, but I had no doubt that he was being sincere.  
David, meanwhile, managed a grin. "Thanks." Others quickly joined him in echoing their approval.  
I suddenly felt ready to go. "Thanks, Coach." I said, managing a grin of my own.

I don't remember much about the first half other than marveling at the level of enthusiasm from the fans when they cranked it up even more after kickoff. 3 quarters of the capacity crowd of 90,000were filled with United fans in red, while the remaining quarter, located behind the Juventus goal, was composed of _Bianconeri _fans in black-and-white-striped shirts. Quite a few were also sporting apparel, flags, and scarves linking the Scouts to one or both teams, much to my amusement, so I could see pictures of Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury mixed in with the United and Juve paraphernalia. It had been absolutely fascinating to find out over the past week just how many United and Juventus supporters were also admirers of Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury.

I simply closed my eyes and started praying Hail Mary after Hail Mary mixed in with prayers for courage and strength for when I was sent on and when we fought after the final whistle. Then I simply tried blocking everything out to ease my stress. My mother had called me the day of the match knowing it might be the last time she and Dad could talk to me. They had both wished me luck and reminded me to not spend all of my energy worrying. Both of them were as supportive as they have ever been: very. Mom sounded like she was on the verge of tears, and even Dad had to keep his voice steady. Both of them were proud, though, because they felt like they knew I wouldn't disappoint them or anyone on our side, and they let me know it.

Before I tell you about what happened after the half, a brief update on the situation around Europe. Our win over Real Madrid and Juventus' victory over Barcelona had helped take Spain's La Liga, ranked as the best league in Europe, out of the Champions League. The competition probably best described as Manchester United against the best of Serie A. As it stood, we had to get past a Juventus that was hitting peak form with Serena's help (not that we didn't forget we were glad of it because we knew what was coming after the first leg was over) just to get to the finals.If we reached the finale, we would face the winner of the _"Derby della Madonna"_—the Milanese derby (intra-city showdown) between AC Milan and Internazionale (Inter) Milan. And one more back story to this match: before Filippo and I had come into the picture, Manchester United and Juventus had played twice in the second group stage. In those matches, David, Ryan, Ruud, and the others had won first 2-1 at Old Trafford and then 3-0 at Juventus' Stadio Delle Alpi (Stadium of the Alps, I think, is how that translates, though I could be wrong). This meant that we were even warier of Juve because we knew just how dangerous a revenge factor could be when going against them and then the Negaverse.

During the second half, I found myself tensing up a bit more as it was still scoreless. I couldn't really make out any weaknesses in the Juventus strategy as I continued to try to size them up while waiting to enter the fray. As we had suspected, they were fighting us the whole way thanks to their spirit augmented with Serena's help.  
Then, in the 72nd minute, Coach Ferguson tapped me on the shoulder.  
"Juventus's bringing on Dibari." He said. "Are you ready?"  
"Absolutely." I said earnestly, as I had been looking forward to measuring myself against Filippo in particular as well as the rest of Juventus.  
Three minutes later, Juventus won a throw-in inside our territory, and I looked up to see the numbers "9" and "18" on the electronic board on our sideline indicating that I was coming on for Paul. I didn't know whether to feel terrific over getting my loudest entrance cheer yet (not in the least because it was as if we were surrounded on all sides by a wall of sound) or tense over the upcoming fight.

Here were the lineups with 15 minutes to go:

Manchester United (4-4-2): Goalkeeper: Barthez. Defenders: O'Shea, Silvestre, Ferdinand, G. Neville. Midfielders (diamond): Keane (C), Giggs, Beckham, Santos. Forwards: Van Nistelrooy, Solskjaer.

Juventus (4-3-3): Goalkeeper: Buffon. Defenders: Ferrara, Montero, Tudor, Thuram. Midfielders: Zambrotta, Nedved, Davids. Forwards: Dibari, Del Piero (C), Trezeguet.

By "diamond," I mean that Roy was playing slightly defensive midfield while Ryan and David manned the left and right wings (respectively) and I took an attacking midfield position.

About two minutes after I came on, Pavel shot it over towards Trezeguet, who headed it down towards the front door to the penalty area just as Filippo made a cut. I was in the area and was about to make an effort to stop him, but he turned so quickly and shot that I couldn't have held him up without fouling and possibly getting booked.  
And one more problem: at the end of that turn, Filippo blasted a shot past Fabien into our top right corner to give Juventus the lead.  
As I watched Filippo celebrate with Edgar and Pavel in front of the raucous Juventus quarter, I applauded him slightly, but of course I was a bit mad that we'd been second out of the blocks in that fashion. The other thing that that goal did, though, was take my mind (and I think some of my teammates' minds as well) off the battle, allowing us to focus fully on Juventus.

Having received a gut check, we stepped up our play and began to regain some ground, and about four minutes after Juventus scored first, Roy got right in Gianluca's way and mugged him with emphasis. He quickly shot it out to David, and I, seeing a chance to take Juventus by surprise, quickly yelled, "Over here, David!" and shot forward like Terrell Owens off a line of scrimmage just as I saw David hit a nice one across the field that I could latch onto. Paolo Montero and Igor Tudor tried blocking me out, but I ran right at them and then cut right and then around them to catch up to the pass, and then I collected it off my chest and rushed forward with only Gigi Buffon in my way.  
Before I met Amy face to face, I would have been thinking, **Okay, this is probably the best keeper in the world, so you better make this finish terrific.** Now, though, after the talk Amy gave to me about not second-guessing myself too much, I was thinking, **You've got this. Even if he's the best goalie in the world, he can't cover the top corner from where he's standing in the center.  
**The top right corner was where I wanted to hit it, and two seconds later I only missed it low by two feet—but still into the back of the net. Tie game.  
I felt the shockwave of the United section's cheers slam into me as I passed Gigi and started running for the left corner flag with my arms out to my sides again and my voice roaring, "Oh, yeah, that's it!" with a broad smile on my face.  
I made a turn back towards my teammates at the corner flag and found them absolutely jubilant.  
"What an equalizer!" Roy yelled at me.  
"Thanks! Nice pass, David!" I yelled back, high-fiving David.  
"Thanks! Nice finish!" He finished, pointing at me with both hands in a sort of "recognize" gesture. I returned the display and then took my position again.  
"All right, lads! 1-all!" Roy yelled, massaging his knuckles and putting his head down slightly.

Three minutes later, we looked to have everything going our way as I "posted up" on Pavel, shielding the ball from him with my back to him and backing him down. I then juked to my right with a fake flick and saw him hesitate, so I quickly darted around his other side with a spin to my right. I had a hunch that since I had scored once already, then the Juve defense would try to trap me if I tried to drive in.  
**Fine by me.** I thought. **Okay, here goes the old drive and dish…  
**It was as if I was Tony Parker driving the lane and drawing the defense before giving the perfect pass to Tim Duncan for him to slam home. When I spun away, the Juventus defense did indeed gravitate towards me because they knew I had a hot hand (or a hot foot for that matter) and wanted to shut me down. I still had enough time, though, to rifle a pass into the penalty area right at Ruud, who collected it and pulled off a textbook turn-and-shoot move across Gigi into the other bottom corner. 2-1!  
The United section was going absolutely berserk by now over us giving a double whammy to take the lead, and the rest of us were absolutely fired up as Ruud pumped his fist energetically at the crowd.

Just as we were starting to breathe again, though, Juventus reached for that bit extra as Serena would have done as Sailor Moon. Edgar ran it right at us and held me off before dishing it crisply to Alessandro just two minutes later for him to fire home past Fabien, and it was tied just like that.  
Maybe because we realized that the leader of the Sailor Scouts herself had brought even more fight out of Juve over the past week, I could start to see the first vestiges of doubt.

A minute later, Juventus kept pressing forward more than the typical Italian squad to say the least, and Juve managed to string together an incredible string of quick and touch passes that left us very vulnerable, ending with a kickout to Edgar, who steered a shot across goal past Fabien. It was now 3-2, and the Juventus section was smelling victory as we once had, and quite a few of us and our fans were left shellshocked at the absolute **vivacity** that the _Bianconeri_ displayed.  
I myself was slightly downcast over the realization of **Oh, no, here they come now...**  
Not even Real Madrid had scared me like that. That was until David told me, "Just keep fighting hard. They may have a lot of spirit thanks to Serena, but we've got a lot of British bulldogs. We can do this!"

Behind me, I could see Rio scowl slightly in an intimidating gesture as if to say, "We're down but not out. Just try us!" I immediately took heart and then saw David give me a look that said in no uncertain terms, **I want the ball!**  
And so with two minutes to go, we began our final push to swing the momentum back in our favor. Rio denied Alessandro a clincher with an emphatic header out of our box, and I won some open space with a couple of sidesteps and a nifty one-two from Ryan. David wasn't the only one who wanted the ball, though-and that other happened to be me, so I took the liberty of running it hard upfield until I could spot David finally wearing down Gianluca enough to collect a pass. He cut inside, still running as hard as he could, and he and I executed a quick give-and-go that had him on the edge of the penalty area with a clear shot.  
As I quickly crossed my fingers, David took one touch to control my return and then let fly. A second later, it had found Gigi's top right-hand corner. Tied again at 3-3!  
"Yes! Oh, God, yes!" I roared as I chased David towards the left corner flag and then jumped up on top of his back to celebrate his equalizer. I was so happy that we had tied it almost at the buzzer and denied Juventus the chance to celebrate a win on our turf that I momentarily forgot about the upcoming fight. Soon, though, I heard the full-time whistle while we were still in the corner, and my stomach plummeted. It was judgement time.

Full-time normally meant "game over" and the end of the night. That night, though, we knew that wouldn't be the case, even though we knew there would be no extra time scheduled—against each other. I could see everyone staying put on the field.

Nicky had quickly shed his warmup jacket and joined us, carrying something shiny. As he approached, I realized that it was my silver and sapphire Mercury Student-Athlete Honor Award armband. My soul seemed to steel itself resolutely as I saw him hold it out. "Here we go! Carlo, I think you ought to wear this."  
"I will." I answered, with committed weight behind my voice. "Thanks, Nicky." When I accepted the armband from him, it was as if Sailor Mercury was speaking to me exactly as she had spoken to me at Old Trafford when I had first received it. **Use your strengths, use your head, put your efforts where they will work best, and you'll be a winner.** It was such that I found myself repeating firmly in my mind, **I will.  
**Paul and Rio had rejoined us by now. David, with a fire still burning in his eyes, looked at them and Nicky meaningfully and said, "Remember, lads, this is war!"  
They returned the look with the same fire, and I found myself giving them the thumbs-up and setting my jaw as we jogged back towards the center circle purposefully. **Let's do this. They're ready to go right now. We're all ready to go right now. And yes, that does mean I'm ready to go right now. **I thought.  
The crowd was booing raucously, and I saw Queen Beryl up ahead speaking with a malicious smile on her face. Apparently, she was doing her share of pre-battle trash-talking.

"I won't lose to you and your powerless friends twice!" Beryl was saying with her shield already up. "The run stops here!"  
"Powerless?" Sailor Moon asked, looking at the Juventus contingent, which had already assembled. "We'll see about that, Beryl! You better brace yourself! I thought you'd already know what they're capable of!"  
"Yeah, take your best shot!" I yelled, and I almost rammed the armband up my left arm, prompting me to uncrumple my shirt. I very rarely talk anything close to smack, but right then and there seemed to be the time and place thanks to the Scouts' presence. For all the world, though, it was as if I was throwing down the gauntlet for all of Manchester United.  
Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Beryl all looked at me. I glared at Beryl with a determined expression and finished unrumpling my uniform. I might as well have been rolling up my sleeves.  
"Oh, you got one too?" Filippo asked, indicating my armband.  
"Yeah." I said, flashing a momentary grin as it occurred to me I wasn't the only kid who had been "decorated" after the quarterfinals. "Do you have yours ready?"  
"Sure." He said, and he pulled out a similar armband, but the book was replaced by a sword and the jeweled disc was topaz with a pearl-white crescent moon.  
"Wait a minute...David Beckham?" Sailor Moon asked, her eyes widening as she saw David come up alongside me.  
"Yes, Sailor Moon." David replied, grinning momentarily before saying, "Honored to meet you, but we've got to save the pleasantries for later."  
"I know." Sailor Moon said. "Nice to have you along for the ride!"

And so it was game on.

At the start of the battle, we fielded Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, the two Davids (Beckham and Trezeguet), Alessandro, Roy, Rio, Lilian, and Ryan against Queen Beryl and seven demons.  
We, and particularly Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury, did several key things early. First and foremost, Sailor Moon established herself as the same "guardian" presence that the Negaverse had seen and feared in Barcelona. That not only inspired the Juventus players, who were glad to see their friend making her mark again, but it also gave the United players, myself included, a much-welcomed morale boost and made us even more serious about not letting **anyone** clock her. Second, perhaps just as importantly, Sailor Mercury continued the great coaching act we'd first seen at Old Trafford. To my surprise, she'd even learned a bit of Italian at some time before the battle and was thus also able to communicate with Juventus more easily. And the crazy thing was that that mere use of Italian instead of English (though I know at least Edgar had good English) made Juve rally around **her** more readily as well. The crowd was now back to cheering at full volume, urging us on and giving us the energy to come out firing even after 90 minutes. Also, thanks to the crowd, each other, and particularly the Scouts, absolutely nobody was coming out scared.

One more thing that happened, much to my shock, was that as the battle was raging and Filippo and I were resting next to each other, Filippo said, "Hey, nice pass." I had just slipped him a choice pass to him while he was open to slam home with a one-timer. What really shocked us, though, was that just after I said "Thanks," he said, "Hey, what's that glowing on your arm? Is that your armband?"  
I looked at my left arm, and sure enough, a soft blue glow with fluctuating rays of light was pulsating from behind my armband. I quickly slid it off, and to my great amazement, the tiniest panel had slid away (it had been just silver before on the back) to reveal a small sapphire-blue orb. My eyes went suddenly wide as I realized its nature and power.  
"Holy cats!" I found myself saying very briskly, a grin spreading over my face.  
"What is it?" Filippo asked. He leaned in, saw it, and his eyes went wide. "Man, that's a beautiful gem! It can't be just another precious stone, though, can it?"  
"Oh, no, Filippo, it's not." I said, smiling fully by now. "This is a Blue Rainbow Crystal!" When I had heard about the Scouts, I had also heard tales of the seven Rainbow Crystals, their ability to reveal Sailor Scouts' identities, and their immense powers, not in the least you-know-what with Sailor Moon and the Silver Imperium Crystal, which is a combination of all seven. I had often wondered what it would be like to possess one when I was younger, and so I found myself flushed with excitement. Then I suddenly realized Filippo might have one as well.

"Hey, Filippo, check yours!" I said. He quickly pulled off his own armband and checked behind it, and sure enough a panel had slid away behind his armband. In the meantime, wondering what would happen if I tried fusing it with my armband's jewel disc, I held the armband disc-up and placed the new Blue Rainbow Crystal onto the disc.

When I placed the blue Crystal onto the armband's sapphire circle, it made the surface ripple and then went under. After going under, I watched in fascination as the sapphire disc began to shimmer as if some power was being infused into it or unlocked from within it—or myself. A similar thing was happening when Filippo dropped his yellow Crystal into his own armband.  
I suddenly found within the next two minutes when I came back on that I was able to move more quickly, be even more effective with my jukes and shots, andmore than anythingthink more clearly so that my instincts were sharpened, leading to improved passing. Filippo was getting a similar enhancement as he was also faster and stronger, only in his instance he was playing with even more of the reckless abandon that is a trademark of champions.

Beryl was getting increasingly frustrated as time went on and she saw that we were starting to gain an upper hand. It got to the point that she dropped her shield to lash out at one of the particularly inept and fatigued defenders, and Ruud semi-inadvertently sent a shot that beaned her in the chin. Recognizinghe'd hit her directly, he was even more pumped up-and so was the crowd. So was Sailor Mercury—for a different reason.

"Wait a minute!" She exclaimed, a trace of excitement in her voice.  
"What?" I asked her eagerly, wondering what masterful strategy she had just thought up right then. After checking to see that we had the situation in hand for the moment, she nodded to me and we headed to the "sideline".  
"Let's turn the tempo up." Sailor Mercury explained, switching on her visor again. "Beryl's getting frustrated, so she's having to drop her guard to lash out at her own burned-out minions. Plus, I think that if we hit her directly, that shield is weakened even more. Did you notice how much more it was shaking after Ruud hit her directly?"  
"Not really." I said. "I guess there was too much going on out there for me to see."  
"That's okay." Sailor Mercury replied, and she stowed her visor.  
After the next minute or so, she and Sailor Moon called for some substitutions so that we were fielding Ruud, Alessandro, Filippo, Ryan, Edgar, myself, David, Rio, and Lillian in addition to the Scouts. The whole team on the field was now either fleet-footed or relentless or both at running, and all of us weren't afraid to take evasive action, so to speak, which made us even harder to stop and even more debilitating to opponents' will to fight. When I found I would be the guy to make the "restart" after we made our de facto line change, I felt another surge of excitement when I realized that as a midfield playmaker, it was as if I was the point guard helping run a relentless offense or a guy sitting at the controls of some military juggernaut.

"Okay, let's run them ragged!" I yelled at the others.  
For the last eight minutes, we played faster even than many English teams would dare. Sailor Moon was constantly spurring us on and running alongside of us, shouting words of encouragement like "That's the spirit! Let's keep on moving the ball like that!" To add to the Negaverse's troubles, Rio and Edgar were getting especially physical, as they were not afraid to stiff-arm or otherwise lay out anyone who threatened to take possession. And if they did steal it, Lillian was turning in a classy performance in a "bodyguard" slot. If they wanted a piece of him, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury were right there. If they wanted a piece of either of the Scouts, Lillian denied them to the point that the Negaverse was limited to only catching tiny bits of the Scouts—and scratch or no scratch on them, he was finding his range with sniping right-footed blasts as soon as he won the ball back.

That was an integral part of the strategy that Sailor Mercury had thought up for the battle so that both the United and Juventus players simply played according to their familiar styles, blending the speed and fury of the English style with the defensive prowess of the Italian style.  
Nothing got our blood going, though, like the fact that the Scouts, and particularly Sailor Moon, insisted on spearheading most of our rushes on goal.  
"We know you two are superb, but we also don't want you to get roughed up!" Roy said during a brief lull in the action after Sailor Moon had made a run off midfield to start and finish another one of our moves. "If you get put out of action, it's over!"  
"Oh, what on earth, Roy." Sailor Moon said dismissively with a wry grin. "Sailor Mercury and I have probably been having too much of a stretch without getting laid out anyway. If we keep playing fast, they won't be able to dent us, so just stay with us, okay? Besides, it's not like one tackle from one of them will drop either of us."  
"You got it!" Roy answered fervently. He had seemed particularly awed by Sailor Moon's leadership affinity over the past week. I think that was because he realized that she is as inspirational as he is, if not more, while she also doesn't have the abrasiveness that Roy sometimes had (thankfully, not while I was with the team), meaning she never lost because of a short temper.

It was certainly a good thing that Sailor Moon was waving Roy off because the way they were stoking our confidence was making us shoot harder, be more physical, and play faster without getting tired and was really spooking some of the demons out because they knew neither of the Scouts was afraid to lay out anyone who tried going after us with an attack or tackle.  
On top of all that, with Filippo being even more bullish with his Yellow Rainbow Crystal and me being put into overdrive physically and mentally thanks to the Blue Rainbow Crystal, those demon defenders were chasing the ball as if they were chasing smoke as we made slicing runs and provided crisp passes. It got to the point that it was even fun to an extent towards the end. Even more fun abounded when I saw a chance to really break the Negaverse team's spirit-probably with the Blue Rainbow Crystal's help.  
"Hey, can you guys go into that touch-passing mode we saw during the match?" I asked Alessandro.  
He grinned and replied, "Absolutely. Just be ready if one of them is at you."  
Thanks to the Blue Rainbow Crystal, I was, and I even took the liberty of flashing a backheel touch or two to demoralize our opponents even more.

Finally, after a total of twenty minutes, Ole, who had come on again, finished off another advance with a perfectly placed shot into one of the weak spots and sent one back to Alessandro, who shook his marker and hammered one off the front of Beryl's barrier, sending back a high rebound for Sailor Moon, who turned her back to the "goal," jumped, and launched the best overhead bicycle kick I have seen in my life.  
The shield collapsed as the bicycle kick hit to deafening cheers.

"We've got it!" Edgar roared. "Wait a minute…what's Sailor Moon doing?"  
He was so curious that he slipped his trademark black visor up, much to my surprise, so that I could see his entire face. Sailor Moon had closed her eyes and was starting to rise into the air, revolving rapidly.  
I was right next to him. "Oh, my God, I never thought I was going to see this in my lifetime!"  
"What?" Filippo and Ole asked me together.  
"She's transforming into her princess form!" I shouted.  
"No way!" Filippo said.  
"Yes way!" I yelled back. "Get a load of this!"

As we watched and the crowd began to murmur excitedly, her skirt opened like petals before it elongated, turned rum pink, and came back together again. The next thing we knew, I was beholding Princess Serenity as she slowly descended back onto the pitch.  
_"Dio mio."_ Filippo managed to gasp, awestruck at her beauty in that form, not to mention a very regal air about her.  
"Oh, my God." I echoed in English.

By the time we managed to recover, Beryl was yelling, "Oh, ho, but now you know you can't go at me at full power without killing yourself!"  
For all that I had heard about the Scouts, I had never heard this, and there was something in Beryl's voice that made me aware that she wasn't lying, making my heart sink. Princess Serenity, though, didn't break stride. "Wrong again, Beryl! No one dies today except you and your monsters!"  
I didn't think that Beryl was going to be able to hold back Princess Serenity's blast at even slightly reduced power, but it turns out that that wasn't the case. Once the two blasts were unleashed once more and had connected with each other, the blast intersection point was quickly heading towards Queen Serenity, to our shock.  
"This can't be happening!" Gianluca said in an Italian accent, giving voice to my thoughts and the thoughts of thousands of others. Screams of terror were starting to roll out of the crowd again.  
"Wrong again!" Beryl was saying, a triumphant grin spreading over her face."Down you go!"  
"Not tonight!" Sailor Mercury yelled, and she shouted, "Mercury Star Power!"  
"Yeah, that's it, Sailor Mercury!" Paul roared as rays of blue light emanated from Sailor Mercury's tiara before she sent the new resevoir of energy at Princess Serenity. The crowd gasped and a few raised cheers as they were hopeful that would stop Beryl's advance as we were, but amazingly, no luck. I grimaced as I realized how little power the Star Power maneuver could transfer since it was only Sailor Mercury performing it and not the whole Scout team. "That's not going to be good enough!" Ryan said, sounding panicked as he motioned towards Princess Serenity and looked at us. "Now what?"  
**Do something!** I frantically thought. Then, suddenly, before I could think about anything else, I found myself yelling, "Star Power Support!"  
I looked at the armband on my left arm and found the sapphire disc starting to pulsate brighter with dim rays of blue and white light emerging from it. Grabbing onto Sailor Mercury's arm, I found myself willing energy out of the surroundings, focusing it into the armband, and channeling it into Sailor Mercury, who relayed it to Princess Serenity. I could see Sailor Mercury flashing me a momentary glance and winking, making my mouth twitch in a very abbreviated grin.  
Suddenly, I realized I hadn't had the only voice yelling. Filippo had also called it out and was funneling energy into his topaz armband as well (his armband was also pulsating.) He had one hand grasping Sailor Mercury's hand and the other one holding fiercely onto Princess Serenity's arm.  
Ryan suddenly grabbed my arm.  
"What are you doing?" I asked, almost angrily. With my concentration half-broken, I expected my armband to stop pulsating as it had before, but thankfully, I was wrong.  
"Helping you to turn this blast away!" Ryan yelled back, and I saw Alessandro, Ciro, Gianluca, Marco, and Mauro all grab hold of Filippo.

Suddenly, I realized that Ryan knew what he was doing. "Thanks a lot!" I said earnestly. "You know what to do—will what you can through me into Sailor Mercury!"  
I closed my eyes, not wanting to distract myself with the scene, and **focused**.  
**We are not going to lose tonight! We are not going to lose tonight! **I could feel myself concentrating so hard that I was shaking and could not hear the crowd.  
Ryan then shook my arm. "Carlo, you can look! We stopped it!"  
I opened my eyes, blinked once or twice, and looked and saw that we had indeed given Princess Serenity enough energy to put the blasts' intersection point back in the middle without overloading and having to sacrifice herself. The crowd was still on its feet and cheering in full voice once again.

"What a shame…" Beryl was saying. "You've only postponed your end, though! Here I come again—and this time, you won't be able to take it!"  
"Not so fast, Beryl." I heard David's voice say mildly but firmly in an English accent. I jerked my head around to see him just to Princess Serenity's right (beside her right arm, I mean) with the ball trapped.  
Princess Serenity turned her head to look at him, smiled, and said discreetly, "Are you ready?"  
David grinned slightly and nodded. It was as if he knew exactly what to do.

As I continued to watch, both of them closed their eyes and a sudden wind seemed to whip the grass around him and Princess Serenity as both of them concentrated especially hard. **Come on, David, don't tell me you're scared of taking that shot…** I thought. **And come on, Princess Serenity, you can do this!...  
**As if she had been reading my mind, Sailor Mercury told me, "He's not getting scared, he's concentrating hard—and it's not about the shot yet! And Princess Serenity's concentrating on the same thing as he is!"  
"What do you mean?" Edgar asked.  
"I think something's about to happen that I haven't seen before from a non-Sailor Scout!" She said, looking slightly incredulous. "But then again, they did all talk about being ready to go and whip anyone who stood in their way—just like before they beat Argentina last year." She said, her look of amazement changing into a smile.

Suddenly, another six Silver Imperium Crystals shot up into the air as the crowd managed a few gasps.  
"Paul, Rio, Gary, Phillip, Nicky, over here, quick!" Princess Serenity said urgently.  
I could see the crystals on a course for the English players, and I found myself frantically wondering what they would do to them once they hit.  
Paul, Rio, and the others quickly took places beside the pair just as a crystal found each of them and David. A brilliant flash of white light lit up Wembley as the crystals made contact with David and company, while the crowd gasped. When it vanished, we were still unable to see them as they appeared to be figures of white light.

Suddenly, I saw the Three Lions emblem—the English national team emblem—flash across the field and then disappear as the crowd gasped even more and some raised ragged cheers. Then without warning, the same emblem appeared in color over the upper middle of each of the English players' chests. At that moment, it was like invisible hands were drawing on the uniforms, giving them a red St. George's Cross motif and then making numbers appear on the fronts of their shirts. Rushing to the back, I saw that their names and numbers had reappeared there too, only Paul's 18 had changed to an 8 (those changes were reflected on the front) and Rio's 6 had changed to a 5.  
**Oh, my God, **I thought. **It's like the English delegation's going through its own transformation sequence!  
**Before I could finish that thought, David and company became visible again.  
The United section absolutely erupted, and the Juventus fans also raised cheers. The United section was louder, though, because the Silver Imperium Crystals had put David, Rio, Paul, Gary, Philip, and Nicky into their Team England uniforms, complete with World Cup winner's star on the right sleeve and Umbro uniform labels. David even had the red English captain's armband. What was more, though, was that a golden glow lingered about each of them, giving each of them a powerful aura and making them seem more like sentinels and knights than anything.

_"Ing-er-lund, Ing-er-lund, Ing-er-lund, Ing-er-lund, Ing-er-lund, Ing-er-lund…"_ was the chant now ringing out at full blast from the United section. Queen Beryl was now looking over at David and company with a dumbstruck look on her face. "What the…"

David took his Predator-armored right foot off the ball and started backing up. Queen Beryl was unable to do a thing because she could only target Princess Serenity at the moment. The other English players inched forward slightly as he paused and looked up towards Queen Beryl again with an extremely determined look on his face. The crowd was simply deafening by now. Filippo and I, still tense, were now saying Hail Marys together while our teammates and Sailor Mercury looked on.  
Everyone knew what was coming.  
"Beckham's not going to miss this one." I heard Pavel saying in his Eastern European accent next to me.  
"Yeah, I think you could hardly ask for anyone better for this free kick." I said, nodding and quickly but carefully choosing my words when I realized Alessandro—who isn't a bad free kick taker himself, don't get me wrong—was only feet away.

I had no doubt then and still do not to this day, though, that nobody in Wembley on our side—not my United teammates, not the Juventus players, not the fans, not Princess Serenity, not Sailor Mercury, certainly not me, and absolutely not David himself—wanted anyone else in the universe other than David Robert Joseph Beckham to take the free kick that might end the battle. Queen Beryl was still gaping slightly at him and his countrymen, even though she was holding Princess Serenity's blast at bay.  
My breath suddenly caught in my throat as I watched David suddenly take his usual run-up to the ball and then hammer it. He hit it so hard that when it was launched into the air, it sounded like a Scud taking off and I have no doubt that even if it were in slow motion, it would still be moving like a shooting star. As we watched on breathlessly and he gave a perfect follow-through, the ball swerved left towards Beryl's head.  
The next thing we all heard was a thunderous _smack!_ Everyone—from David to Princess Serenity to Sailor Mercury to me to the fans—cheered as we realized David had scored a huge goal—and a huge hit. The next thing that we saw was Princess Serenity driving her light blast into Queen Beryl. When it hit, it looked like a gigantic flashbulb going off in Beryl's face and really did some damage to get everyone going even louder. Beryl was starting to plummet earthward by now. I felt my tensions lessen dramatically, as I had a big gut feeling that Queen Beryl had no answer to David and company adding their powers. **Oh, yeah, they've got it!**

And the amazing thing was that the England players weren't done yet—not by a long shot.  
"Gaz, it's coming your way!" David roared as we saw the rebound come back.  
"I'm all over it!" Gary shouted back.  
The ball bounced once before Gary unleashed a wicked half-volley that caught Beryl in almost the same spot that David's free kick had hit. The rebound this time fell to his brother, and Phillip stuck it back emphatically at Beryl yet again with another hard upward shot. The carom was now especially high. The United section was becoming particularly raucous, and even the Juventus fans were starting to raise their voices as the English delegation began to dish it out.  
"This one's mine!" Rio shouted as he picked up its flight. He quickly let out what sounded like a battle cry and leapt forward so high and so quickly that he was almost flying at Queen Beryl—something he wouldn't have been able to do in his normal state, athletic as he is. He locked onto the ball and absolutely launched a header into Queen Beryl's forehead, hitting her hard again with yet another head shot. It was simply one unbelievable sight after another from Princess Serenity and the English.  
By now, the remaining demons had started to come to their senses and tried rushing at anyone who wanted to keep dishing it out. As if it would have made any difference. Nicky stiff-armed the one that tried rushing him before he stuck another half-volley right back into Beryl's mug before Paul got to the carom, juggled past a despairing demon's tackle, and fired a final volley into Beryl's chin.

By the end of the combo, every successive goal/hit was being greeted with a ground-shaking _"Olé!"_ from the English fans, who kept up the noise as Queen Beryl hit the ground.  
"Yeah! Oh, my God, how about that?" I asked, pounding Ryan on the back with a grin on my face.  
"I know, that was brilliant!" Ryan said, smiling back earnestly. "I tell you, Carlo, you don't have to be English to know that Beryl made a fatal mistake in picking Wembley to attack."

Beryl was a forlorn figure still on the ground by now, though she still managed to taunt us.  
"You…haven't killed me…yet!" She managed to gasp with what little arrogance she still had left as I saw her spit out blood mixed with her saliva.  
"Well, let's correct that, shall we?" David shouted in a much more aggressive voice than usual, startling me as I saw his eyes flash. He closed his eyes and yelled, "England Star Power!"  
As we watched, amazed, the World Cup winner's star on his right sleeve began to glow and pulsate with the energy that he was gathering.  
"Come on, lads!" David yelled at his compatriots and friends, looking at them with as much intensity as I have ever seen from him.  
"Right!" Rio yelled, and he was next to yell, "England Star Power!"  
His World Cup winner's star also began to glow and pulsate like David's. Gary and the others quickly joined in, and Princess Serenity was soon flanked by six Englishmen clad in their national team uniforms—six of the best England has to offer in David, Paul, Rio, Gary, Phillip, and Nicky, no less—all gathering whatever energy they could and adding it to her strength. Then I reasoned that if I could perform Star Power without transforming, then they ought to be able to perform it too when transformed. Still, it was yet another incredible sight to see, because if you told me that David and the others would transform into their national team "forms" and help swing the battle in our favor, I would have said, "That would be fitting, but I don't know about that."  
Then I remembered what Gary had said the previous night. "Nothing brings your best out of you like the knowledge that your country and the hopes of your fans and loved ones live and die by your performance and the performance of your mates." It seemed to echo in my head.

All seven of them were in a line by now, with Princess Serenity in the center and the six English internationals flanking her three to either side of her with their arms either around each other's shoulders or around her shoulders. As David and company continued to mentally reach for more energy and their World Cup winners' stars shone brighter and brighter, the English crowd was in the lead as the chant of _"Come on, England! Come on, England! Come on, England!"_ boomed throughout the stadium.

"You're finished, Beryl!" She shouted. By now, we all could see the doubt in Beryl's eyes.  
The tension was thickening again due to one more problem, though, as Roy told me.  
"You think she's going to take us with her when she goes down?" He asked me, motioning toward Beryl.  
"I hope to God not." I said, quickly murmuring another Hail Mary. I searched myself for a gut feeling that we were going to go down and found to my relief that it wasn't there. "I don't think so-not with them around." I added, grinning as I pointed at Princess Serenity and Sailor Mercury.

Princess Serenity unleashed another light blast just as the English players transferred the energy they had gathered into her, and this time, Queen Beryl had no chance. I let out a cheer as it hit, but it was cut out a moment later by a piercing scream and a column of light such as I had never seen before radiating from Beryl. This time, I could see it was going to envelop us, so I ducked my head and squeezed my eyes shut. Even with my eyes closed, I could see an incredible brightness surrounding us.  
That column, however, also eventually dissipated as I saw the burst die away from behind my eyelids. After I bumped my chin against myself and satisfied myself that I was still alive, I sighed with relief, then opened my eyes and let out an even biggersigh of relief as I saw the pitch and stadium unharmed. Suddenly, though, my eyes were riveted to a sight in front of me.

In front of us was a pile of bodies topped by the Team England players now back in their United uniforms. For one last terrifying instant, I thought they were dead, but my fears were soon thankfully allayed. As it turns out, at the bottom of the pile was Sailor Moon shielding David, who had been lying on his stomach on the field. Apparently, when Beryl had gone out with her bang, Sailor Moon, then in her princess form, had quickly moved to drive David to the ground and shield him while the others piled on top to protect Princess Serenity and their captain. The blast had also blown off both Sailor Scouts' tiaras.

When they got to their feet, we were hit with the incredible fact that our best-case scenario had become reality. We really had won—and **everybody** had survived to play another day. That last part was a particular relief because even though the Scouts had a reputation for not losing anyone during a fight, I knew that even this sort of war would make casualties very expectable.  
The crowd noise started at panicked gasps and whispers as few knew what to do and were still mostly checking to see if friends were okay. Then the applause started. Then the shouts. And suddenly, Wembley Stadium exploded—in an absolutely uplifting crescendo of cheers, chants, and roars.  
That was the signal that it was okay to celebrate. All the weight that had been loading me down over the past week suddenly disappeared, leaving me feeling as if I could have jumped in the air and stayed up for a minute—literally.  
"We did it! We actually did it, Sailor Mercury! _We won!_" Sailor Moon shouted ecstatically.  
"I know!" Sailor Mercury replied, and they hugged each other tightly.  
"We did it! It's over! Carlo, Gary, we've actually done it!" Rio was roaring at the top of his lungs, leaning back slightly and pumping his fists.  
"I know, Rio! _Whoo!_" I yelled jubilantly. "That did it, ladies and gentlemen!"  
"Excuse me, could I talk to you for a second?" Sailor Moon asked.  
I turned to see who she was speaking to-and found myself jolted when I found her alone in the center circle looking right at me.

"Go on, Carlo!" Philip said.  
"Uh..." I said for a minute, feeling increasingly nervous.  
"Do I have to push you in there?" David asked.  
"No. Absolutely not!" I said, and I grinned as I walked into the center circle.

"Carlo Santos, right?" She asked me. "Yeah." I answered.  
"Sailor Mercury tells me you're her opposite number at Manchester United in more ways than one." She said, grinning.  
I grinned sheepishly and did a Bugs Bunny imitation, saying after chuckling, "I'm so unimportant."  
She laughed and held out her hand. "Don't tell me that. Sailor Mercury made a very wise choice in telling you what makes her tick."  
"I guess so." I said. "Thanks for everything you've done for us."  
"No thanks needed, but you're welcome." She replied. "But I have to thank you too. Carlo, you have to remember you were the very first person in all of Europe without a gun to show you'd stand up for your family, friends, and supporters, and Sailor Mercury tells me you were also first from Man. United to answer the call for tonight. Do you see your armband?"  
I looked down at my left arm, where the armband still sat, still shimmering. "Yeah." I said, grinning and looking up.  
"You probably know that's where a captain's armband sometimes goes. I know you're not your team captain, but I like how you weren't scared to steer your team the right way when it had to make a turn. Because you did that, I'd like to say thanks, in the form of an old soccer gesture."  
With that, she did something I thought she'd never do at all, much less to me:  
She put both hands on my head, bent it forward slightly, and kissed my forehead.  
I couldn't help but break into a wide grin as I closed my eyes. **Oh, my God, this is way too sweet and way too cool!** I was screaming inside. 

Time seemed to stand still at that moment—just me, a Manchester United midfielder clad in United's home red and white standing face to face with Sailor Moon as she kissed my forehead—and to think all of that was in the center circle at Wembley in front of about 90,000 people on their feet! Both of our uniforms were damp with sweat in a few places, but we had won and smiling faces surrounded us out on the pitch at Wembley. I even chuckled slightly as I heard some catcalls out of the United team.  
"Yeah, Sailor Moon, let him have it!" Rio yelled, making me laugh.  
Once we came apart, I said, hardly able to talk from a heavy case of shock, "Thanks a lot-again."  
"You're welcome." She answered, still beaming. Then she held me by the shoulders at arm's length, looked at me meaningfully and said, "Don't be scared to lead when people need you to."  
Just as I had digested Sailor Mercury's words of wisdom at Old Trafford, so I took Sailor Moon's advice to heart as well.  
"I'll try not to be." I said, looking back at her right in her blue eyes.  
"I know you won't on purpose." Sailor Moon replied. "Could I talk to Roy and Alessandro?"

"Sure." I said. I called their names and they were promptly next into the center circle as I stepped out and the crowd volume, which had seemed to dim while Sailor Moon had been talking to me, seemed to turn back up. I could hear her saying, "Great performances from you two-as if anyone except Queen Beryl would have expected anything less." All three of them chuckled and Roy and Alessandro said their share of thanks. I remember Roy was especially on her case again for her terrific leadership job.  
She gave them the same kiss as she gave me and another armband each: for Roy, a gold armband laced with ruby strips around its circumference with a Manchester United emblem in gold and ruby, and for Alessandro, an onyx armband with pearl strips lacing it around its circumference with a Juventus emblem in onyx, pearl, and topaz.

"Your teams can hardly ask for anyone better to be their captains. Thank you so much." Then she turned to David and called, "Um, Becks, do you have a minute?" She then asked.   
David promptly stepped into the center circle as Roy and Alessandro stepped out and patted him on the back as the crowd began to cheer again, especially the United section.  
"Nice shot!" Sailor Moon said fervently, smiling at him enough to make your heart melt. "Not even that goal you had against Greece at Old Trafford beats that one!"  
"Thanks a lot." David said, grinning.  
"I'll tell you this, Becks: we all know you may be the world's best free-kick taker. As a matter of fact, I'm tempted to say you're the universe's best free-kick taker, but I personally think you won't score a more important goal than your last one tonight-but only if it wins England the World Cup. And speaking of England..." She smiled and then waved her scepter one more time, making a gold-and-ruby armband with an England emblem made from ruby, pearl, and onyx appear on his upper right arm. "For you, Becks, because you put your life on the line, got your countrymen to do the same, and stepped forward to serve queen and country when the time came."  
"Thank you very much." David said. "But we weren't the lads who decided this result. You and Sailor Mercury are the women of this match because without you being incredibly brave yet again and deciding to step in, protect us and our fans, support us, and fight alongside us, we would have surely been fighting a losing battle. So speaking of queens..." His grin widened as he finished, "God save the Queen of Britain-and God save the Queen of the Moon Kingdom."

I had no idea that David had an inkling of Sailor Moon's form of Neo-Queen Serenity, so I found my head spinning slightly.  
"Oh, stop it." Sailor Moon replied. Both of them laughed before Sailor Moon administered that same kiss and then smiled at David, prompting him to grin back.

We clapped and cheered before Gary smiled broadly and began a new chant that seemingly the whole United team and section picked up on at once, myself included. _"One David Beckham, there's only one David Beckham…"_

Suddenly, we heard a lone _click _of a camera. Quickly turning to see what it was, we found that a lone photographer had been taking it all in after we'd beaten Beryl. Spotting us looking at him, he said timidly, "Excuse me, could we get a dual team photo with Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury in it?"  
"Why not?" Sailor Moon asked.  
"Yeah, why not?" Sailor Mercury said. "Okay, let's come in." She and Sailor Moon began motioning towards us.

Within minutes, we were lined up in two ranks so that Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury stood in the center while the United players stood or crouched on Sailor Mercury's side and the Juventus players did the same on Sailor Moon's side. Everyone was either standing in the "at ease" position with hands behind the back or with arms around the shoulders of those alongside or crouching with one or no arms providing added support. By then, the photographers had turned out in force and the flashbulbs were going off like a firing squad to take the dual team photo, individual team photos with the Scouts, and photos of the Italian and English delegations with the Scouts. Needless to say, everyone was really smiling big-time. For up until about two minutes after we left the pitch that night, it was as if huge smiles were plastered on our faces and our fans' faces.

We then took not one but two victory laps, often pausing here and there to acknowledge each particular section. One of my most treasured photos from that night is a shot with Edgar to the left of Sailor Mercury yanking her hand into the air while she waves with her other hand. Sailor Moon is to her right, also waving energetically. Meanwhile, I'm on Sailor Moon's right, gesturing at Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury as if to say, "Give these girls a hand!" while David's leaping up on Sailor Moon's back with the famous new arch in the background to the left. 

The whole crowd was still cheering and chanting at full volume as if it was the Champions League title game and both teams had won-and then some. The English fans were even more raucous after apparently overhearing David's accolade of "God save the Queen of Britain and God save the Queen of the Moon Kingdom" and were now blasting out their national anthem-both for Queen Elizabeth and Neo-Queen Serenity-with all the will and voice they could gather, especially when Sailor Moon passed in front of them:

_God save our gracious Queen,  
Long live our noble Queen,  
God save the Queen!  
Send her victorious,  
Happy and glorious,  
Long to reign over us,  
God save the Queen!_

_Thy choicest gifts in store  
On her be pleased to pour,  
Long may she reign!  
May she defend our laws  
And ever give us cause  
To sing with heart and voice,  
"God Save The Queen!"_

Sailor Moon was really appreciating those renditions of God Save The Queen to the point of embarrassment at times, as I remember seeing her face almost going rose-red after the first round finished and pointing that out to my friends, much to our amusement.

"I can't believe this is happening." She was telling Gary in an awed tone after waving at the United fans to acknowledge another round. "Sailor Mercury and I don't do our work in front of crowds that much, but I'm sure that even if we did, we'd still never expect anything as great as this!"  
"Believe it, Sailor Moon." Gary replied, smiling broadly at her. "That's proof of what you've done. That's proof of how much you've won our hearts." 

Another song began to play in the background over the PA speakers. Turns out it was the Love to Infinity mix of German dance diva Karaja's "She Moves (La La La)". Apparently, the Wembley sound crew thought it fit the Scouts very well, and I have to agree.

_She moves her body, moves her feet  
She feels the rhythm like it is her heartbeat  
Up and down, she jumps to the beat  
Start dancing to the dream sound..._

At the start of the first victory lap, the PA announcer even yelled, "Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a hand for Juventus FC and company! A round of applause, please, for Ferrara, Montero, Thuram, Zambrotta, Nedved, Camoranesi, Davids, Trezeguet, Di Vaio, Dibari, Del Piero, and Sailor Moon!"  
Everybody absolutely went off, and the Juventus section was, needless to say, the loudest. The Juventus players clapped their hands above their heads to acknowledge them while Sailor Moon waved frantically and blew a few kisses to the crowd while Sailor Mercury, the United players, and I happily joined in applauding Sailor Moon and the _Bianconeri_.

_We move our body, move our feet  
We feel the rhythm like it is our heartbeat_  
_Up and down, we jump to the beat_  
_We are living in a fantasy_  
_And la la la, la la la la,_  
_She goes "la la la, la la la la"_  
_And la la la, la la la la,_  
_We go "la la la, la la la la..."_

The PA announcer then continued, "And let's also hear it for Manchester United FC and company! I give you Neville, Ferdinand, Neville, Butt, Santos, Giggs, Scholes, Van Nistelrooy, Solskjaer, Keane, Beckham, and Sailor Mercury!"  
Wembley exploded all over again, this time with the United section leading the cheers as Sailor Mercury, my United teammates, and I took our turn in the spotlight and clapped our hands over our heads. Sailor Mercury was also waving energetically, bowing to the fans, and blowing some kisses of her own as Sailor Moon and the Juventus contingent beamed and clapped. I was yelling to the crowd and the Juve group, "Yeah! Thanks a lot, guys!"

_It makes you crazy when she spins around  
She throws you kisses, puts you in a spell bind  
All the people gather around  
Start dancing to the dream sound_

Filippo was showing what looked like a professionally made white custom flag—apparently made by a fan—to the other Juventus players and was making them grin widely.   
"What is it?" I asked.  
"Check it out!" He said, and he turned the flag so that I could see it.  
To the left of the flag's emblem was Sailor Moon's transformation pen silhouette, and her feet crossed a yellow crescent moon to the right of the emblem. Above that crossing point was located a Juventus emblem, with a thin oval with its long side vertical and a yellow outline encircling the three symbols. Above the oval was _"Guerrieri di Torino"_, which is Italian for "Warriors of Turin." At the bottom was "Sailor Scouts—Juventus) and a line below that was _"soldati fino al fine"_, which translates to "soldiers until the end".

"Oy, Carlo, we've got one too!" Rio yelled, flashing another white flag with a different emblem in front of me.  
The style was similar: The bottom of a blue Mercury sign crossed with the left tip of a yellow crescent moon, and above it was the Manchester United emblem with a white circle with a red border encircling the three symbols. Above it was "Guardians of Manchester" while at the bottom was "Sailor Scouts—Manchester United" and just a line below that was "Live For Love United."

After those absolute scenes of euphoria, we headed back down the tunnel and into our dressing rooms. Just before Coach Ferguson was about to begin his postgame spiel, Serena and Amy walked into our dressing room looking like an ordinary pair of Japanese tourists in jeans, long-sleeved shirts, jackets, and dual-team scarves. I sat up straight, wondering what sort of rave review was coming our way.  
"Oh, Miss Tsukino, Miss Anderson, would you like to do the honors? I don't know if I can quite find the words at the moment." He said, giving a kindly grin to both of them.  
Serena stepped forward, and all of us got quiet-as E. L. Konigsberg would have said, "Just. Like. That."  
She smiled brightly at us before opening her mouth and saying loud and clear, "No mistake about it, you guys are going to walk away tonight heroes, every one of you." She pointed at each of us as she spoke to reinforce her point. "And no mistake about it, Amy and I are as proud as we can be to get to fight alongside you and see you bite the bullet and come through. Competition titles may have to be defended, but nobody will be able to take away what you did tonight."  
The room erupted as Serena smiled and clapped, and we allowed ourselves a round of applause amongst ourselves.  
"Sir?" Serena asked, turning to Coach Ferguson.  
"Well, team," He began, grinning broadly, "I can't tell you how proud you've made me as well. All I have to say is get out of here, celebrate a bit, and meet back here at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning for a debriefing."

Roy, who had been absent for a while, jumped into the center of the room, lugging a large ice-filled pail of what looked like beer. "You heard the man. Who's up for a bottle of Carlsberg?"  
The players whooped and each of them, except David and me, got a bottle out of the bucket.

"Go for it, but be careful not to get smashed! We still have games to play!" I yelled, grinning and feeling thankful for the last fact. I don't plan on drinking much at all when I get older. "Do you have any soda, Roy?"  
"Yes, I happen to have some." He tossed Serena, Amy, David, and me a bottle of Pepsi each. "One of the lads I saw for the drinks told me you might be wanting this."  
The five of us looked at each other and grinned. The four of us with Pepsis each gratefully took a sip before I removed my shirt to reveal my undershirt and slumped against the lockers, drained but elated.

"David!" I heard a female voice shout in a British accent.  
"Hey, who's…" I started to ask, then I heard David give a shout of delight.  
_"Victoria!"  
_The name hit that spot inside me that makes one stand straight up, no matter how tired he or she is.  
Serena recovered her voice first."Posh! Oh, my gosh!" She and Amy exclaimed that last part together.  
"No way!" I said, my mouth hanging open.  
The next thing I knew, though, the former Victoria Adams (Posh Spice) was running into our dressing room and almost knocking David off his feet with a bear hug.  
"Oh, my God!" I yelled. "Hey, look who's here?"  
"What the-" Ryan said momentarily, and then upon seeing Victoria, he broke into a wide grin. "Oy, look who just arrived!"  
A commotion for David and Victoria ensued, but Serena was able to rescue them when she approached them just a minute later.

"Uh, Becks, Posh…" Serena asked the two of them.  
"Yes?" David and Victoria asked, looking up at her.  
"Could I have your autographs?" Serena asked, still in a timid voice as she held out a notepad and a pen.

David and Victoria seemed surprised at having the girl who was really Sailor Moon and the Moon Kingdom Princess ask them for autographs as if she was just another ultra-shy female fan, but a smile broke out on their faces. "Sure, Serena." He said, and he got the notepad and signed a page, then handed it back and asked, "Can I have yours and Amy's autographs?"

"Sure!" Serena and Amy said, likewise smiling at the thought that this was the Team England captain, the man of the hour, and perhaps the most popular athlete in the world asking them for autographs as he handed them his United jersey shirt. Once they had signed it, I asked David eagerly, "Could I see it?"  
"Absolutely." David said.

When he handed it to me, I took one look at it and said in a tremulous voice, "Oh, man!" Below the right edge of the Vodafone sponsor label, Serena and Amy had respectively signed David's jersey "Sailor Moon" and "Sailor Mercury" in neat cursive signatures.  
"Do you mind if you and Amy sign mine, too?" I asked eagerly.  
"Not a problem—if we could please have your autograph first." Serena said, grinning.  
"Definitely." I replied, grinning.  
Amy grinned back and asked, "Do you want us to sign in the same place?"  
"Yes, please." I said.  
Once we had exchanged autographs, I folded my shirt especially carefully and then looked up to see Roy with a bottle of Carlsberg in one hand and his shirt in the other. "Could I have your autographs, too?" What's more, Ryan and Gary were standing right behind him.  
"I had a feeling that was going to happen once you got up there!" I told Roy as a smile spread over my face.  
Once I had also gotten David's and Victoria's autographs, Gary plopped down next to me and said, "I tell you, what a night, eh?"  
"You got that right." I said fervently, taking another long sip of Pepsi.  
"You know, I was the chap who was with David when he realized he really fancied Posh." He said.  
"Really?" I asked, extremely interested. Suddenly reminded of Serena and Amy being beseiged by the rest of the United team, though, I changed my tone and said, "Probably not the time."  
"Don't worry about it." He replied. "It's not as if the Negaverse will interrupt it, right?"  
We both burst out laughing.

Our bus driver passed us copies of the _London Times_ extra published right after the battle. The headlines were absolutely screaming:

**Otherworldly!—**United, Juventus, Sailor Scouts team up to sink Negaverse in colossal battle at Wembley  
**The Moon, Mercury, and Stars**—Profiles of the 2 warrior princesses and 22 knights who were all that stood between us and annihilation  
**Smooth Sailing—**United, Juventus players quick to praise Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury; Butt likens Sailor Moon to "a young Margaret Thatcher"  
**The Red Guard—**Premiership well represented as United electrify England and put Beryl to the sword  
**Juventus' Gladiators—**Battling Bianconeri do Turin, Serie A proud  
**The Lads Who Fought At Home—**Three Lions regulars Becks, Scholes, Ferdinand, Butt, Nevilles deliver with England's fate resting on them  
**Men Among Boys—**Former classmates Santos, Dibari produce key performances beyond their years

When I got back into my hotel room after fighting with the rest of the team through a madhouse reception in the lobby of the Savoy, I let myself fall on my back on the bed and just lay there for a minute or so just savoring the moment and letting it all soak in as cheers still sounded from outside. Then I flipped BBC News on, changed into my pajamas, and hit the sheets while seeing what people were saying about us.  
**Oh, man, what a night!  
**And the crazy thing was that even though the Negaverse threat had been blown away, the ride still wasn't over yet.

In the next chapter: "Kicking It & Silverware"  
Why the extra crystals and the extra transformations? Whatever happened to Mina and Arsenal Ladies in Frankfurt? What else are the teams getting for their performance against the Negaverse? What does Serena think is the best way to lead? All is answered the day after the showdown as Carlo hangs out with Amy, Ryan, David, Serena, Filippo, Alessandro, Edgar, and a few others. Apparently, the Wembley victory wasn't the only win of its kind that night in Europe that was being celebrated as the teams get the results of the Frankfurt clash involving Sailor Venus and Arsenal Ladies. Translation: Mina, Leanne Champ, and Ellen Maggs enter the picture while Carlo is reunited with someone who has been his classmate since middle school. Also, the Scouts invite the teams to an awards ceremony at Buckingham Palace and FIFA announces big celebration plans.

Author's Soundtrack Suggestions:

Original Version (songs released before April/May 2003):

Lose Yourself (Theme From 8 Mile)—Eminem  
_You better lose yourself in the music, the moment,  
You want it_—_you better never let it go!  
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow,  
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo...  
_ From the soundtrack to 8 Mile. If this doesn't get you fired up for a big game, I don't know what does.

Brave, True, and Strong (Amy's Theme)—Artist unknown_  
"And the rest that I should ask  
Only God can grant me:  
To be brave, to be strong, to be true..."_  
This is from the 2002 World Cup album. I can easily see this as Amy's theme, as her volume of the Sailor Moon Scout Guide reveals her motto as "Be noble, be honest, be pure."

Bringing The World Back Home (Serena's Theme)—Artist unknown  
_"If you got a dream, you won't dream alone,  
'Cause we're in this together, whether we stand or fall,  
Make it through the storm, then we'll overcome  
And you know that I won't dream on my own, cause we're bringing the world back home..."  
_ This is also from the 2002 World Cup album. This is Serena's theme in my opinion because it talks about perseverance and "and just remember/when all hope is gone/the darkest hour is dark before dawn", which I really think reflects Serena's personality.

She Moves (La La La—Love To Infinity Mix—Sailor Scout Theme)—Karaja  
From the 2003 Ministry of Sound American annual, its lyrics are featured in this chapter. I think this has a rhythm **and** lyrics befitting the Scouts.

Modern Version:

Virgo—Ludacris & Nas  
_Baby girl, won't you come and hold my hand  
Won't you come and chill out with the Virgo?  
Hey, girl, just come and hold my hand  
Won't you come and just chill with the Virgo...  
_ This is from Ludacris' 2004 album The Red Light District. Ever wonder what a moonie with a street attitude dreams of singing/rapping about Amy? Because she's touted by some as the quintessential Virgo, this is my guess.

(I Need A) Soldier (Sailor Scout Recruitment Call)—Destiny's Child featuring T.I. & Lil' Wayne_  
If your status ain't hood, I ain't checkin' for him,  
Better be street if he lookin' at me  
I need a soldier that ain't scared to stand up for me  
And only carry big things if you know what I mean..._  
As you may know, this is from Destiny's Child's 2004 Destiny Fulfilled. I can imagine this playing in the background in the scene where Amy's in the locker room with United just before Juventus has its first battle (see Chapter 3.)


	6. Kicking It & Silverware

Opening Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me what seems like eternity to update this, but I've only just got over some writer's block and some word processor problems—and this is another long chapter! Hope you find it worth the wait, though...

I woke up the next morning wondering slightly whether what had happened the previous night had actually occurred. When I looked out the window and saw the sun and then saw the TV still on recapping the previous night's match and battle, I grinned broadly.  
On the TV, I could see former Barcelona and Team England striker Gary Lineker, now a top soccer analyst for the BBC, saying about the previous night, "Without question, this is the most memorable moment in not just English, but European and possibly world sport. You had two of the legendary Sailor Scouts plus two legendary clubs, Manchester United and Juventus, last night. You know that if Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Beckham, Del Piero, Davids, and the other stars of the Red Devils and the Old Lady (a nickname for Juventus) ever get together, it will make headlines across the sporting world. For them to team up in a decisive battle—football-style, no less—to end all decisive battles at a Wembley that was packed and at full volume last night and win is simply beyond brilliant."  
My happiness helped wake me up a bit more, which was a good thing considering it was just past 8:00. Remembering I had to be back at Wembley for a debriefing with the rest of the team in two hours, I quickly dressed in a similar outfit to the previous day—my Nike sneakers, white socks going up to just above my ankles, gray wind pants, a gray long-sleeved Abercrombie shirt, and the red corduroy jacket (one thing I forgot to tell you—it can also be worn as a dress shirt because the back of it is a little longer, reminiscent of dress shirts) plus my Cubs cap. I had just finished pulling the cap on when Rio came knocking on the door to make sure I was awake. 

"Oy, Carlo, you up?" I heard his voice asking through the door.  
"Yeah." I replied. "Just give me a couple minutes."  
Once we were in the hallway heading towards the elevators, I asked Rio, "Did you get any sleep at all after last night?"  
"Hardly." He said. "I was so excited that I couldn't until the wee morning hours—and the supporters were still out there!"  
"I know!" I said, nodding as we stepped into the elevator and began to descend towards the lobby. "I tell you what, it's not going to stop being crazy around here for a while..."  
I was right. When the doors opened back up to reveal the lobby, I heard what sounded like a young British man yell, "Come and look! It's Rio and Carlo!"  
I grinned, chuckled, and went a little red at the sound of it, while Rio only grinned because of his experience in the spotlight. People clustered around us quickly, and by the time we got down, we had a small bunch milling around us, so we got down to breakfast about 10 minutes later than planned.

I knew there would be more people yelling at us in praise than usual after what we had done, but it was then that it began to sink in that I wasn't just a high-schooler or even just a teenage star at Manchester United anymore—I was a teenager with the city of London in my debt. If there were any doubts that my life had changed forever over the past eight days, then that was the day they disappeared.  
Proof of that came as we finished breakfast and flagged down a taxi to take us to Wembley. The driver, upon recognizing us, immediately told us that we didn't have to pay a shilling for him to take us to Wembley—rather, he just wanted to get our autographs and talk about what had happened the previous night. We regaled him until we got to the stadium, where he dropped us off and then almost sped off, tires screeching from his ecstasy.

Rio and I shared a laugh and then headed through the players' entrance down to the dressing room where we were having our "debriefing". Everyone was there as scheduled—the whole team in street clothing, plus Amy in a simple outfit: a dark blue knee-length skirt, a white long-sleeved shirt with no collar, and athletic shoes with no socks.  
Once everyone was in, Coach Ferguson began in a casual but also authoritative voice. "Ordinarily, you know we would be heading back to Manchester today." He said, making me nod, before adding, "However, we should be aware that because of just what happened last night, some people may know may invite us to an important event of some sort, so our stay here has been extended until further notice. Other than that, I want to say 'well done' once again. When we leave, of course you're free to celebrate some more, and I know I may not have to say this, but let's please stay on our best behavior, because the last thing we need is a spot of bother after what we did."  
We all nodded this time as he smiled at us before he said, "It shouldn't be too much, though, after all we've gone through, right?"  
"No, sir." I said along with the others, who each responded with either that or a variant.  
"Right. Is there anything else someone wants to bring up before we split up?" He asked.

"Actually, yes." David said, and he stepped forward, with me watching with curious intent.  
"Keano, Giggsy, and I want to give Amy something on behalf of the team." He said, holding out what looked like a red paper box you'd find at a department store. "We had some people we know make it right after we left the ground last night." Then, anticipating what some of us were about to do, "In order to surprise you other lads a bit too, we're going to step outside while Amy puts it on. That's your one hint—it's clothing."  
"Oh, blimey." Phillip said. "Okay, you heard Becks—everybody out!"

We stepped outside the dressing room, all of us (except for David, Ryan and Roy) wondering what on earth was in the box. Gary voiced our curiosity, asking Ryan, "What on earth is in it?"  
"Oh, there's no way I'm going to spoil that surprise." Ryan replied with something of a mischievous grin.  
"What we can tell you, though, is that it's our way of letting her know just where she stands with us." Roy said with a similar grin.  
Just then, Amy called, "Okay, you can look now!"  
I was the first to come back in as she made a little graceful turn so that we could size up the whole outfit and said, "Thanks so much, guys! I love this! What do you think?"

Everyone answered by either gasping, whistling, exclaiming something like "Wow!", having his jaw drop, or some combination of the above.  
Amy was now clad in what had to be the coolest United uniform variation I had ever seen. It was modeled after a Japanese schoolgirl's uniform—with a few twists. The pleated skirt was white, and over the white long-sleeved shirt, she was now wearing a short-sleeved shirt based on our home jersey. It was red with the Nike logo towards the upper left (Nike is our uniform sponsor), the United emblem towards the upper right, and the Vodafone sponsor label below a gold bow tie. The sailor collar was white with black trim just like that on our uniforms, and it cut away at the back so that we could see the name Anderson and David's number 7 on the back in Premiership font. To top it off, the shirt had both Premiership and Champions League patches on the sleeves, with a Japanese flag added towards the end of the right sleeve just as it is on national team shirts.  
Translation: Amy had received a **Manchester United** sailor suit from David, Ryan, and Roy, and it was the prettiest thing we'd seen her wear yet.  
"Holy Mother of God!" I said.  
"No way!" Rio exclaimed."Forget a swimsuit or a dress, because you look best in that!" Phillip said.  
"Unbelievable!" Gary said. "It's fitting, though—you know you're one of us after what's happened this past week! Oy, Becks!" He turned towards David and asked, "It was your idea to give her your number, wasn't it?"  
"It sure was." David said. Then, turning to Amy, he said, "Amy, let me tell you something. You probably know being the No. 7 for any team is an honor, but here at United, it's something more. Yes, I've had some part in it, but it's also because of those who came before us, like the man who wore it before I did—Eric Cantona. You may know him—he's a striker known as 'The King' who played for France. He was my role model at United, so that's another reason I don't so much as give a shirt with that number to just anybody."

I grinned at that revelation and at the sight of Amy in that uniform before Phillip asked with a smile on his face, "Are you sure you can't stay for a few minutes for some photos for _United _Magazine?"  
"I'm afraid that's a no-can-do." I said, coming back to my senses enough to realize what that would incur but also earnestly laughing at the idea of Amy being a model for _United_ Magazine. "I know tons of people would be looking at those pictures and liking them, but how many would make the jump and realize that it's really Sailor Mercury modeling for us?"  
"You're right." Roy said, nodding half understandingly and half regretfully before perking back up and asking her, "You can get some photos with us just as mementos, though, right?"  
"Sure I can!" She said brightly. "Anyone want to go first?"  
"Let's put your lad in first." Gary said with a snicker. "Carlo?" He asked, turning to me.  
"Um, Carlo?" Amy asked. "Do you have a moment before they start shooting?  
"Yeah." I said, sensing that she was a bit timid. "What is it?"

Once I had finished following her outside the dressing room, she took a moment to reply before she answered, "There's something I think you should know, Carlo." She paused again, and then slowly said, "There's this boy back in Japan that I've started going out with a little more, and I think I really like him, so…I'm sorry if this is coming at the wrong time…"  
I was astonished that she felt regretful at letting me know that. I found myself shaking my head before I looked at her meaningfully and said, "Look, Amy, it's okay. I gotta admit that I like you an **awful lot**, but I also know I didn't come to Europe to win a girl's heart. Besides, I don't try to swipe girls out from under guys' noses. I hope it works out between you and him." I added quickly, grinning sincerely at the end. "I was ready for that, too—I was telling the guys on Tuesday that with all you've got, you've got to have a boyfriend back home. Although I guess—and this comes from being around the guys—you've got me if something goes wrong." I smiled at her as I finished.  
She smiled back and said, "Thanks for being so understanding, Carlo. But just to make sure I'm even with Serena..."  
**Oh, hello!** I thought, feeling myself jolted. Before I could do anything else, though, Amy had tilted towards me and had given me a short kiss on the cheek. It felt...cool, if you'll excuse the expression—not just because it was cool to have the girl who is actually Sailor Mercury kissing me on the cheek (while decked out in that cool United/Japanese schoolgirl hybrid uniform, no less)—but also cool because when she kissed me, it was as if a bit of her calming aura flowed into me, making me feel as if all was right with the world.

I was soon brought back to reality, though, as I heard Gary yelling, "Oy, Carlo, we saw that! Well played!"  
I looked at him and then at Amy before telling her, "Just give me a second."  
She nodded and said, "No problem." With that, I headed back to the others for a moment.  
"Did you make your move on her?" Ryan asked quietly.  
"Quite the opposite." I said honestly, quickly filling them in on what Amy had told me. (Author's note: I am one of the people who think that Greg/Ryo will end up being Amy's husband whether we like it or not!)  
"Oh." Gary said. "Still well-played, though—I know lads who would break down if she let them down that easy."  
"Could we still get some shots of the two of you together?" David asked. "You two do look good together, you know, couple or not."  
"I know she won't mind." I said, handing them my disposable camera. Amy and I then led the others out onto the field and spotted two seats in the front row where the armrest in between had been knocked off in the pandemonium of the previous night (it would be reinstalled by the next evening for reasons I'll reveal later), creating a bench of sorts.

I sat in the left seat, while Amy took the right seat. We were smiling for the guys and they were about to snap when I realized something.  
"Wait a minute." I said. Turning to Amy, I whispered, "I don't mean to be rude, but can I get that hug that I got on Thursday night for the camera?"  
"Sure!" Amy said with a smile.  
With that, she took my cap off, laid it on a seat to the side, and then opened her arms invitingly. It was a terrific trip back in time to Thursday night—Amy soothing my soul as she smiled down on me and held me close as my head rested over her heart and I smiled with my eyes closed, looking more like a kid and less like a teen United up-and-comer turned standout. There was one vast difference, though, as the first hug on Thursday night was the most important hug I've ever known, whereas the reenactment, if you will, at Wembley was after we had come through the wire there less than 12 hours beforehand.  
For a moment, I forgot where I was, not hearing the catcalls from the guys as we shared that hug again. Once they had snapped, David asked me, "Was that the hug the two of you had in Manchester last Wednesday?"  
"Yeah." Then, realizing what he had just said, I asked, stunned, "How did you know?" Then it dawned on me: "Oh, yeah, that's right, you called me right after that!"  
"Right in one." He said. He then me with a knowing look, "The most important hug you ever had, eh?"  
"You bet it was." Ryan said, answering for me. "Carlo's a tough lad, but he needed Amy more than any of us. Hang on...what are they...whoa!"  
"Look at this! They're getting too comfortable up there!" Gary yelled.

Amy had said, "Wait a minute..." and whispered something in my ear. I listened to her plan and gave her a broad grin and a nod, knowing that what we were about to do would accomplish its purpose: freak the guys out. We changed seats, and after a few seconds, it was as if we were asleep cheek-to-cheek as I supported Amy, who was lying on my lap with her legs stretched out over the next seat."Okay, you two, we've got the photos—or are you two not done cuddling up over there?" Roy asked.

"No, not yet..." Amy said, pretending to be groggy and making me laugh a bit before she started laughing too right before she said in a normal voice, "Just kidding, Roy—we are."  
The guys couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, who's next to get a keepsake shot with the lovely Miss Anderson?" Gary asked loudly, laughing again at the end with the guys as Amy went slightly red but laughed sincerely as well.  
Just before I came back down to the field, she asked, "Where are you headed after this?"  
"Trafalgar Square." I said. "Just in the mood after last night, you know…"  
"I see." She said before asking, "Do you mind if I come?"  
"Oh, no, I don't." I replied fervently.

So after the guys had gotten their pictures with Amy, we split up for the day, with me and Amy taking a cab back towards the Savoy and getting off at Trafalgar Square. As we found our seats, I gazed up at the nearby statue of Lord Horatio Nelson sitting atop the column bearing his name.  
It had been Nelson, an admiral, who had issued the famous message that David had quoted to the Royal Navy at the Battle of Trafalgar against Napoleon's French navy—"England expects every man to do his duty." Despite being outmanned and having to deliver a victory, the British indeed won the day—but Nelson was also killed that day. As I learned while over there, the anniversary of that battle is still a major date on the British calendar.

We didn't get much time to ourselves, though, as we spotted Serena and Filippo as we were about to sit down.  
"Hey, Serena! Filippo! Over here!" Amy yelled as we both waved to beckon them over.  
"Oh, hi, Amy!" Serena said, waving back, and she and Filippo headed over to the table where we were about to sit. Once they were there, we all sat down.  
Filippo had Adidas sneakers, jeans, and a blue T-shirt with the Team Italy crest on it, while Serena had also recieved a new uniform modeled after a Japanese schoolgirl uniform—in this case, a Juventus one. It also had a white pleated skirt, and she was also wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, but in her case, the long-sleeved shirt was being worn under a short-sleeved shirt based on Juventus' home jersey: black and white pinstripes with the Juventus emblem towards the upper right and the Tamoil sponsor label below a gold bow tie, plus a white sailor collar with gold trim that cut away at the back to reveal the name Tsukino and the number 7. Also, similar to Amy's new United sailor suit shirt, Serena's shirt had both Serie A and Champions League patches on the sleeves and a Japanese flag added towards the end of the right sleeve.

"Wow, looks like we both got the royal treatment!" Serena said. "I love how they turned their uniforms into schoolgirl-style ones just for us!"  
"Same here!" Amy said. "I'm glad they gave you No. 7 too!"  
"Hey, it fits her like it fits you." Filippo said. "No disrespect to (Gianluca) Pessotto, but I never liked the idea of giving the No. 7 shirt to someone who plays defender basically all the time."  
"Glad you both like it." I said fervently. Then, spotting Luna meowing in Serena's arms, I said, "Man, you take that cat places, don't you?"  
"Yeah." Serena said. "She's the kind I'd absolutely hate to be without."  
"I see what you mean." I said it casually enough, but the look I gave Serena and Amy told them I knew just what they were talking about.

"I tell you what, I still can't believe what happened last night! Especially with the crystals and the transformations and everything..." Filippo said fervently, looking skyward for a minute.  
"Yeah, that's something I was wondering about." I said. "Last night, when Filippo and I fused the Yellow and Blue Rainbow Crystals into our armbands, it was like we were put into overdrive—phyisically for both of us, plus mentally for me and spiritually for Filippo, if you know what I'm saying. And of course I know those are duplicates of the originals, so every Crystal we saw last night apart from your Silver Imperium was an extra. What exactly was going on?"  
"Well, the first think that comes to mind is 'something extremely fortunate', because if it weren't for those extra crystals, we wouldn't be here right now. Queen Beryl would still have been beaten, but she'd have taken me and very possibly Amy as well down with her by forcing me to use the Silver Imperium Crystal to its full power." Serena said seriously.  
"I did not know that before last night—I just thought that when you transformed the second time, it was all over!" I said earnestly.  
"It technically was. When the shield was knocked out, I knew she wouldn't win, but of course I didn't want her to get me too, much less in front of 90,000 people." Serena said, smiling again. "But let's get back to what you were asking about, because Filippo was asking me about that right when I spotted the two of you."

She took a moment and then said, "Amy and I talked about it after we had left Wembley last night, and our opinion is that the Rainbow Crystals can appear based on how much trust we have in the bearer and give power that same way." Serena said. "And yes, that power is derived from the essences of individual Scouts—me, Amy, and our friends, so what happened last night with you and Filippo, although it was the first time we'd ever seen it, wasn't that surprising. As for the Silver Imperium Crystal..." She paused for a minute and then added, "The way we see it, a duplicate can be drawn out of the the Silver Imperium Crystal if someone who we have a lot of faith in wills it out—and it does help if I'm wishing it out, too—and when it responds to its bearer, it turns him or her into the most powerful manifestation of himself or herself—which, in the case of David, Rio, Paul, Gary, Phillip, and Nicky, is their Team England form. Only the Moon Kingdom royal family can use its full powers, though, which is why they didn't opt for a blast like mine."  
Filippo and I nodded as Serena paused before she spoke again.  
"Fortunately, they wouldn't have needed to think of that. Another factor we had in our favor last night was that David already has so much natural skill with free kicks, so all the Silver Imperium Crystal had to do was improve his shooting by a few notches." She laughed and grinned here before adding, "I personally think it did more than that, and likewise, it enhanced Rio's aerial talents, Paul's ball-handling talents, and so forth."  
"I tell you, I think it bumped them up by more than just a few notches." Filippo said. "I know that Beckham free kick was an absolute blur!"

"That's no lie." Serena said with a trademark big smile. "But despite that, I will say this: what I enjoyed more than anything last night wasn't that we beat Queen Beryl, that we did it in front of all those people at such a beautiful stadium in Wembley, or that I got to see David and the other Team England players transform and watch you two boys deliver. When the full Scout Team fights, our best strengths are unity, team chemistry, and heart. And last night, even though we hadn't all fought together and had even competed against each other at times, we really did pull together and fight as one against Queen Beryl. To make it short, what made me smile more than anything else was that we all showed what playing and fighting together is all about."  
"No kidding!" I said fervently.  
"Looks like Europe's already taken notice." Filippo said. "A few newspapers I've seen this morning have been hailing you, Amy, Carlo and Man U, and me and Juventus as the best team assembled on the face of the earth."

"I'll tell you what, of all the things that Amy and I would have dreamt of, I never expected we'd be called part of a great sports team, much less a great soccer team here in Europe." Serena said with a small laugh.  
I smiled and shared in that laugh and then realized that I had the chance to do something that loads of people from athletes to students to business executives would gladly welcome the opportunity to do: ask the captain of the Sailor Scouts about the keys to leadership. My youth gave me one more thing aside from energy and friendliness: curiosity. That and the fact that I was also a sportswriter at Reynolds meant that I am certainly not one of the best people at holding in burning questions, and that was one case where I couldn't hold it in.  
"Um, Serena, do you mind if I ask you something?" I asked.  
"Sure, go ahead." She replied.  
"Just a change of subject…what do you think is the best style of leading?"  
"That's a very good question." She replied, smiling. "I think it depends on the situation most of the time. There are times when you need to say something and times when you need to show the way. I personally believe that everyone has the ability to lead, no matter how deeply buried it is inside. I also believe that once a person finds it that ability to lead, he or she can just follow his or her heart can be okay."  
I took a moment to digest it, nodded, and then said, "I can certainly see where you're coming from." Then I added, "Is it okay if I change the subject and ask you something else?"  
"Sure!" Serena said brightly. "What is it?"  
"How long have you followed David?" I asked her.  
"**A long time.**" She and Amy said together.  
"Because of his looks?" Filippo asked with a grin.  
"Well, yes...partly." Serena replied a bit sheepishly.  
"Then again, I guess, who doesn't?" I asked honestly with a laugh.  
"Nobody." Filippo said, also laughing. "But I'm not saying Beckham's just a pretty boy, because what he did last night proved there's more to him than just that."  
Serena smiled at him and then said, "Let me put it this way: I like how he looks and how he plays..."  
"And the fact that he's married to a Spice Girl?" This time, it was me who was asking the question with a grin on my face.  
"Well, that too, definitely." Serena replied with a laugh and another smile. "When I found out he was dating Posh, it was one of the best surprises of my life. What I'm trying to say, though, is that more than anything, I like him because I really think he's a fighter. I think it's only because I've lived a life as a Sailor Scout that I have an idea of the character he needed to come back from what happened in France in 1998." Her tone was very earnest as she finished.

"Oh, yeah." Filippo said, nodding.  
"I tell you what, I hate just imagining what it felt like." I said just as earnestly, also nodding as my mind flashed back to that incident.  
Against England's archrival Argentina in the 1998 World Cup's Sweet Sixteen in Marseille, David had hit perhaps the mother of all low points when he had gotten tackled and then, while on the ground, had lashed out at Argentina's then-skipper Diego Simeone. David had been sent off, and, when England had lost that game on penalties, had become a goat burned in effigy in some London streets. He had then spent four long years with that monkey on his back until England and Argentina met again at the World Cup, this time in a 2002 group stage match in Sapporo, the match that Amy had attended—with Serena, as it sounded. In that match, David, by then Team England's captain, battled hard despite having broken his foot against Spain's Deportivo La Coruña less than three months before the tournament, and when England won a penalty, he stepped up to the spot, faced his ghosts, and scored with a low blast right down the middle. It occurred to me then that Serena might have taken that last penalty in Barcelona as Sailor Moon low and hard as a sop to that. His goal turned out to be the match-winner as it finished Argentina 0, England 1. Not only that, but as it turned out still later, David had not only exorcised his ghosts, but he had helped put England into the Sweet Sixteen at Argentina's expense.

"Me too." Filippo said. "By the way, I've heard people talking about David possibly moving to Japan towards the end of his career."  
"Me too." I said quickly. "Now that would be crazy. Can you imagine David in the J-League?"  
"I know I'd love that." Serena replied. "And I don't want to sound selfish, but right now I'd like it if he joined Real Madrid so that I could see him play this summer in Tokyo. I wanted to see the Toyota Cup match against Palmeiras in 1999, but I couldn't get tickets. But part of me also wants him to stay because he means so much to Manchester and England."  
Oh, let me explain quickly—the Toyota Cup is the name for the European/South American Cup, which takes place in Tokyo or Yokohama each December. It only has one match, but it's a big one. In it, the Champions League winner faces off against the winner of the Copa Libertadores in a battle of Europe's best against Central and South America's best. The winner is acknowledged as the best club in the world—an honor United won once in 1999 as their treble-winning team beat Brazil's Palmeiras in Tokyo. (Author's Note: The Toyota Cup has since been expanded to include the club champions of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and North America and the Caribbean.)  
Back in the present, I said a bit uncomfortably, "Yeah…I've heard all that talk about him wanting to leave, and I get sick every time the subject comes up because I can't find myself thinking about Manchester United without thinking about him and vice versa, so I really can't fathom the prospect of him leaving—until the twilight of his career, that is."  
"I know." Amy replied soothingly.  
"Hey, Carlo, aren't those your friends over there?" Filippo asked, pointing behind me.

I turned around to see David and Ryan entering the square. "What? Oh, yeah! And isn't that Alessandro and Edgar over there?" I pointed to my left.  
"Hey, it is!" He said. Lifting his head and standing up slightly, he called out to them in Italian, which prompted me to cup my right hand to my mouth and yell, "Hey, David! Ryan!"  
"Oy, Carlo! Amy! Serena!" David called. "What is this, the teen afternoon out?" He said, coming up to the four of us and seeing Filippo was with us too.  
"Something like that, although we'd like it if you hung out with us too." Serena replied.  
"No problem—I was just asking. We figured Amy and Carlo would be here, but we weren't counting on you and young Dibari being here as well." David said. "Is this the first time in Trafalgar Square for all of you?"  
"It sure is." Filippo said.  
"Hey, David, Carlo, who are those four girls behind you?" Edgar asked. "I've got the feeling they're headed right for us."

"Let me see..." I said, turning around and squinting to look behind me and David. What I saw made me freeze for a minute and mouth, "Oh, Christ!"  
I had frozen because I had recognized the girl who was second from the right and realized that for the third time in a week, I had met an Inner Sailor Scout in person—in this case, Mina Aino, who I knew was Sailor Venus. As a result, I couldn't help but wolf-whistle as I beheld her in a flippy orange knee-length skirt, sneakers (with no socks), and a red Arsenal long-sleeved button-down shirt that was tucked into the skirt.  
Meanwhile, David hadn't spotted Mina yet because there were others that he knew already among those four. "Well, I'll be. It's Arsenal Ladies. That girl over on the far left, that's Leanne Champ—plays defender and midfielder for the England Ladies—and the one to her right is Angela Banks, a striker who's also played for England." He said, pointing out the ones he was referring to, the first a young blonde with hair down just past her shoulders and the second a brunette who looked on the line between young and middle-aged.  
"You don't say..." I said, coming to my senses a bit as I squinted and tried to see who else was accompanying Mina.

If there was a world club championship that required clubs to field teams split as evenly as possible between men and women (example: 6 men and 5 women on the field or vice versa), Arsenal would be my pick to take it. Not only is their men's squad a regular title contender in England and in Europe, but their women's team also regularly wins competitions in England and is a European contender. As a matter of fact, they have averaged more than one major championship a year over the past half-decade or so if I remember correctly.  
I would have been nothing but an admirer of theirs except for one thing: Manchester United-Arsenal is one of English soccer's equivalents of Duke-North Carolina. As a result, a number of us United players, were it not for the fact that we had helped save the city of London the night before, would have been tight-lipped.

David, in the meanwhile, had spotted Mina and had apparently been stunned as well. "Hang on...Amy, Serena, is that—?"  
He got no further, as Mina ensured there was no ice with what she did next. Having just caught sight of Serena and Amy, she beamed even more and yelled, "Serena! Amy! Way to go last night!"  
"Hey, take nothing away from what you did in Frankfurt, Mina! Nice going!" Serena yelled back as she and Amy ran towards Mina and they shared a group hug.  
David, Ryan, Filippo, Alessandro, and Edgar were a little startled at first because they didn't know just who Mina was, while I was startled I knew who she was and was still a little stunned to see her in person.  
"Oh, my gosh, you two look fantastic!" Mina exclaimed once they had separated for a bit. "I gotta ask the girls for—"  
I inadvertently cut her off when I recognized the fourth girl in the group—my Reynolds classmate and teammate Devon Fitzgerald, who is pretty with brown corkscrew curls and is half a head shorter than me. I had forgotten in the heat of the past week and the shock of meeting Amy and Serena that Devon—a utility player who prefers midfielder or wing defender—was at Arsenal Ladies.  
"Oh, my God!" I yelled. "Devon!"  
"What?" Devon asked, puzzled at first. She then saw us and her eyes grew wide as she smiled and yelled, "Oh, Carlo! Filippo! This is too cool!"  
"Hey, Devon!" Filippo shouted.  
He, Devon, and I ended up having our own little scrum. I always love seeing classmates outside of school, and seeing Devon after we had fought in the previous night's battles and won was especially gratifying.

"I'll tell you something—I'm very happy for those three, because they really played and fought like adults rather than kids." Serena said as Amy nodded.  
"Me too." Mina said, also nodding. She then added, "I know you couldn't make it, but you missed a great one in Frankfurt, you guys. The girls beat up on Frankfurt and then we blew the Negaverse force there out of the stadium." She beamed and looked at Devon, Leanne, and Angela with fierce pride.  
"Probably a diversionary assault." Amy explained quietly to the boys, all of whom nodded.  
"Well, me, Amy, Juventus, and Manchester United were too busy giving Queen Beryl a party on the other side of town and no mistake!" Serena said, still glowing and giving Amy, me, Filippo, David, Alessandro, Ryan, and Edgar a similar look of fierce pride.  
"I don't doubt it! I looked on the sports cover of the Telegraph on the way over here and saw the photo of Sailor Moon kissing you at midfield—that was so cute!" Devon said, smiling broadly.  
I felt myself going red as I grinned.

Meanwhile, Leanne and Angela were chatting excitedly about the previous night with David, their Team England colleague, before chatting with Ryan. When they began chatting with Alessandro and Edgar, I took the opportunity to introduce Mina to Ryan and David.  
"Ryan, David," I said quietly but with a big grin, "Mina Aino—Sailor Venus."  
"Hi, Mina." They said.  
"Afternoon, lads." Mina said in a very authentic-sounding British accent.  
"Honored to meet you." David added as he and Ryan grinned and chuckled at Mina's British accent, before he also asked, "Where'd you get the good accent?"  
"She lived in London for a little bit." I said, and Mina nodded.  
"Let me guess...in Highbury?" David asked.  
"Yep!" Mina said. "A good neighborhood, in my opinion."  
"So let me guess…Arsenal became your favorite club while you were over here?" I asked, knowing the answer.  
"Oh, yes. They were good and they were the home team, so how could I resist? I was something of a fan of the 'old guard'—Tony Adams, David Seaman, you know—although I definitely like Thierry Henry too…" She was smiling, but then she frowned slightly and added, "But I can't believe that they released Junichi Inamoto after what he did at the World Cup!"  
"Yeah, I really couldn't understand that." Filippo said earnestly. "Inamoto came alive at the World Cup, didn't he, Carlo?"  
"Oh, yeah." I said fervently. "Second goal against Belgium, the lone goal and some relentless play against Russia—you be the judge. At least he got to stay in London—he signed with Fulham after the World Cup and then they won the Intertoto Cup."  
As continued to chat and relaxed some more, someone with a boombox was playing Will Smith's "Block Party". I had heard it before, and knowing what was in it made me smile and think, "Oh, yeah..." because I knew how appropriate it was. Sure enough, I soon heard,

_Nine o'clock with all my crew  
At ten o'clock we roll on through  
Don't know what you gonna do  
But whatever you do, hit the block party tonight  
All the ladies hangin' out with friends  
Don't be late or you won't get in  
Party's back, from beginning to end  
Everybody tell a friend that the block party's tonight..._

"Oy, look!" Ryan said just after Mina and Filippo excused themselves temporarily to use a restroom.  
Amy had picked up a soccer ball that had been just rolling around and was walking towards the center of the square not far away from us.  
"Wonder what she's gonna do with it." I said.  
"Looks like she's going to freestyle with it." David told us.  
"I think you're right." I said with a sudden shot of anticipation. In all of our scrimmages, Amy, as I have said, flashed her share of moves—but for practical reasons, which in soccer means "to beat the defender"—but we had never seen what she could do when the one aim was to have fun and get stylish.  
"I have just two words for you—'look out.' I saw some footage of her from Manchester and I know she's awesome." Devon said.  
"She sure is." Edgar said, nodding.  
As Amy reached the center, the music changed to the Rockwilder remix of Destiny's Child's Bootylicious, so I heard the intro as Amy reached the center:

_Kelly—can you handle this?  
Michelle—can you handle this?  
Beyoncé—can you handle this?  
I don't think you can handle this!  
My boy Roc (Author's note—reference to Jay-Z), can you handle this?  
My girl Missy—can you handle this?  
DC—can you handle this?  
My ghettos, you can't handle this!_

As the song started in earnest, Amy flicked it up and started to juggle. She started off easy enough, but then began to throw in some moves, including a couple of "up-and-under" tricks, in which she flicked the ball up, jumped so that one foot passed over the ball, and then landed in time to keep the ball alive as Kelly Rowland began,

_Better move, 'cause we've arrived  
Looking sexy, looking fly  
We're the baddest chicks of chicks inside  
DJ, jam tonight  
Spotted me, a tender thing  
There you are—come on, baby  
Don't you want to boogie with me?  
Can you handle, handle me?_

"I tell you, she'd make a great Japanese international if she put her mind to it!" David said.  
"That's a fact." Leanne said. "Look at how fluid she is!"  
"I have to love that—she's got flow and she's turning it on out there!" Edgar said with a grin—which I knew was a glowing endorsement because he's a street soccer king turned professional. "Wait a minute…here comes Serena!"  
Serena had arrived in the center. Amy, seeing her, grinned broadly and shot a volley pass over to her without missing a beat. She took it and then started to make her mark on things. I knew she wasn't enormously skilled physically, so I wasn't expecting the world out of her. However, to my delight, time with Juventus had indeed improved her skills—quite a bit. While her juggling still wasn't as fluid as Amy's, she looked better than quite a few of the others I had seen freestyling in parks around London and Manchester. Perhaps fittingly, she got into the thick of things as Beyoncé Knowles started singing,

_You gotta do much better  
If you gon' dance with me tonight  
You gotta work your jelly  
If you gon' dance with me tonight_  
'_Cause I don't think they're ready for that jelly for them boys  
I don't think they're ready for that jelly for them boys  
I don't think they're ready for that jelly  
Beyoncé, Michelle, and Kelly—it's time for takeoff_

"Oh, my God, look at that!" I yelled.  
Amy had just taken a pass from Serena and popped it up with her right heel after she brought her right leg around her back before continuing that spin and flicking it back to Serena with the outside of her right foot. Serena caught it with a right shoulder stall before bringing it down into a left knee stall and then a terrific right-leg "stork", in which she wrapped her right leg around the ball so that it was trapped between her hamstring and calf before she passed it back to Amy.  
"No question about it—she's improved ever since Barcelona." David said, clapping.  
"No kidding—and I think that might be an understatement!" I said. The music had been going through its chorus:

_I don't think you're ready for this jelly  
I don't think you're ready for this jelly  
I don't think you're ready for this_  
'_Cause my body's too bootylicious for you, babe  
I don't think you're ready for this jelly  
I don't think you're ready for this jelly  
I don't think you're ready for this_  
'_Cause my body's too bootylicious for you, babe  
I shake my jelly at every chance  
When I whip with my hips you slip into a trance  
I hope you can handle all this jelly that I have  
Now let's cut a rug while we shake our (pause)_

They were absolutely starting to tear it up out there, so I was very surprised when they stopped for a moment and headed towards the side. Even more surprising was that they headed right for me. As they headed for me, Kelly had started singing again,

_I'm about to break you off  
H-Town going hard  
Lead my hips, slap my thighs  
Swing my hair, squint my eyes  
Lookin' hot and smellin' good  
Groovin' like I'm from the 'hood  
Look over my shoulder—I'll blow you a kiss  
Can you handle, handle this?_

"Do you want to come in and join us?" She asked, holding out her hand.  
I found myself wincing. My father had taught me to always accept girls' requests to dance, but I was still apprehensive.  
In this case, though, it wasn't just my father's advice or the fact that it was Amy and Serena asking that was pushing me in—it was the calls from my friends.  
"Come on, Carlo, don't turn them down!" Devon yelled.  
"Take them dancing, you lad! Go on, Carlo!" David said.  
It was at that moment that I more or less decided, _Oh, what on earth._ I grinned at everyone before facing Serena and Amy. Sweeping off my cap and bowing (this was England, after all), I said, "You're on."  
"There you go!" Ryan yelled. Turning to the others, he said, "Hold on to your hats!"  
As the crowd cheered, Serena half-giggled and half-laughed, still smiling, before they took hold of their skirts and curtsied. Right after that, they took me by the arms and led me out as Beyoncé began singing again,

_You gotta do much better  
If you gon' dance with me tonight  
You gotta work your jelly  
If you gon' dance with me tonight  
Read my lips carefully if you like what you see  
Move, so groove—can you handle me?  
By the looks I got you shook up and scared of me  
Hook up your seat belt, it's time for takeoff_

_Not quite, _I thought with a grin.  
I turned my cap backward so that I could head properly if need be (and yes, to look a little cooler), took the ball, and started off.  
I knew that because Amy and Serena had done a good job of strutting their stuff earlier, I had to deliver with a gem of my own. I started off slow like they did to get into my own rhythm, and then I began to get loose as I threw in some up-and-unders and then a very difficult move: the "quasi", in which you flick the ball up and then catch and hold the ball with the back of your neck. Judging from the cheers and encouraging yells from the crowd and my friends—including Amy and Serena—it did the trick. From there, I went into a right foot stall.  
"Serena!" I yelled.  
She faced me and nodded to indicate she was ready to get a pass. From that right foot stall before I flicked it back up enough for me to volley a high pass to Serena, who took it of her chest and kept it going, throwing in a standing over-under and then another right knee stall—"easy enough for me to learn because with it, I can trap the ball against my hip or my chest", as she told me later—before she passed it on to Amy, who ratcheted things up even further by ending her latest segment by doing a variation of the "flip side" as she flipped it over her head, turnied around, and then volleyed it back to me with the next touch.  
"There you go, you lot! Turn on the style!" David yelled, clapping.  
"Yeah, way to turn it up!" Leanne yelled as the small crowd began getting even louder.  
"Keep it going, guys! Don't stop!" Devon shouted.  
She needn't have worried. We had no intention of stopping as the music reached its chorus again:

_I don't think you're ready for this jelly  
I don't think you're ready for this jelly  
I don't think you're ready for this_  
'_Cause my body's too bootylicious for you, babe  
I don't think you're ready for this jelly  
I don't think you're ready for this jelly  
I don't think you're ready for this_  
'_Cause my body's too bootylicious for you, babe_

I only turned it up more when I got even more psyched as Missy Elliott added some rap. When I heard it, I told myself, _Time to get crazy!_ I went ahead and just started **jiving**—that is, I started using my best moves, including some work with the ball on the ground as if I was trying to beat an invisible defender, and Amy and Serena followed, with Amy flashing an fluid but vicious out-in crossover juggle right out of a barnsey and Serena doing a top-to-bottom combo—a head juggle, a shoulder juggle, a knee juggle, and then a foot juggle—with a right-leg stork at the end. Judging from the growing yells from the crowd, we were about to make someone lose his or her mind.

_You're not ready—how many times I say you're not ready?  
Watch my booty shake like a fat lady's belly  
My style's so stank I better bank  
You gon' smell me—oh, you smell me  
Smells like money when I come runnin'—whoa!  
Missy keep it comin'—whoa!  
Rockwilder drum-drummin'—Destiny got the whole word freakin' something  
Now we killin' something  
Somebody better warn ya  
Bey, Michelle, and Kelly put that jelly on ya  
Rockin' Missy be hot like California  
Why don't you sing the hook, why don't ya? Now, here we go…_

Our finish, which came as Michelle Williams was singing, was equally stylish. I started it off with a standing left-foot up-and-under and then threw in a crossover juggle and a big right-foot pop-up before I turned a bit and volley passed to Serena with my right heel. Serena then flashed another hard move—the "bubble gum", where you lean back as much as you can and perform a shoulder stall. She then heaved it off her shoulder and back into the air, where Amy caught it with a perfect quasi.  
Then, surprisingly, she began to stand up while still gripping the ball with the back of her neck. "Serena, Carlo, get over here, quick! Hold it up!" She yelled, beckoning us over.  
Suddenly, it hit us what she was asking us to do. Rushing over to her, we turned our backs and then positioned ourselves so that the ball was trapped between all three of our necks in a tripod of sorts. Once it was locked up, nobody had to tell us what to do next. It was a freestyle with two Sailor Scouts, so all three of us knew we had to strike final poses as a last flourish. And that we did, with mine being simply turning my cap back around and pulling it down a bit while keeping my thumb and index finger on the bill.

_Move your body up and down  
Make your booty touch the ground  
I can't help but wonder why  
Is my vibe too vibalicious for you, babe?_

"Yeah!" Edgar roared as the crowd that had gathered cheered and clapped. "That's how you let it hang out!"  
"Whoo-hoo!" Devon cheered. "Way to go!"  
"I tell you, someone's gone mad out there." Ryan said with a big grin.  
Incredibly enough, it wasn't the only soccer we had that afternoon. The square had a lot of open room that day even though a lot of people were there, so I played that afternoon and early evening, much to my happiness, alongside the others against some locals in a series of no-goalkeeper games that had smaller goals to make up for that.  
It was especially fun playing with Serena, Amy, and Mina as well as my friends—both because they're terrific people and it's definitely not every day you get to play pickup soccer in Trafalgar Square with some old and new friends, particularly three very special new ones in Serena, Amy, and Mina. It also gave me a look at Serena's and Mina's soccer skills.  
Serena is a central midfielder who is still developing in terms of talent—as she put it, "I'm not a jock, but I'm not a total wimp, either"—but she has a heart and a mindset that everyone who follows soccer, especially English-style subscribers like me, David, and Coach Ferguson, love to see: "run hard from the first whistle until the last and battle continuously." She even got the winning goal in one game when she fought her way past a defender and rose up to head in a cross from Devon with almost no time left.  
Meanwhile, Mina's volleyball experience means she's very good at volleying—including a header that ranks with the best of them. That, plus her good work rate and entertainer's spirit, means she's like Alessandro, Rivaldo or Francesco Totti—someone with a lot of flash and talent at either attacking midfielder or striker.

It had started to get dark by the time we finished with that, so we split up to head back to our hotels, with Serena, Amy, and Mina heading off by themselves.  
"One more thing…" Serena told us. "Tell everybody, 'Don't go to dinner yet.'"  
"What for?" I asked.  
"You'll find out as soon as you get back to your hotels." Amy said.  
So David, Ryan, and I were wondering what on earth Serena, Amy, and Mina had planned for us as we made the short walk from Trafalgar Square back to the Savoy.  
When we arrived, as they'd promised, our questions began to be answered. As we approached the front desk, Gary met us, dressed surprisingly in wingtips, khaki dress pants, a white dress shirt tucked into the pants, and a red and white United tie.  
"What's going on, Gaz?" David asked, approaching his best friend with me and Ryan hot on his heels. "What are the girls up to?"  
"Something that sounds massive. Get dressed, quickly!" He said urgently. He turned to the man behind the front desk and asked, "Oy, Joe, do you have their letters?"  
"Yes, I do!" He said, handing white envelopes with gold accents to me, Ryan, and David.  
I took the envelope, opened it, and gazed down at the pretty script that read,

_To The Addressee: _

_Please come to dinner with us and a few others tonight. We won't disclose the location just now, but we're sure you won't mind. There are also a few things we want to give you before we sit down, but I'm sure you won't mind that either when all is said and done. Your clothes are in your hotel room closets and the bus will be ready at 8:00 outside the hotel. _

_Sincerely,  
Princess Serenity and Princess Mercury_

"Oh, my God…" I said. Then, realizing that left us just an hour to get ready, I said, "Meet you back down here soon!" Before I went up, though, something else came up.  
"Hey, who else recieved these?" I asked the man behind the front desk.  
"Keano, Butty, Scholesey, Phil Neville, Ruud, Ole, and Fergie." He said, grinning.  
"Thanks!" I said. With that, after I had said "See you later" to the others again, I was heading up to get dressed.

At 8:00, we were dressed up and boarding the same team bus that had taken us to and from Wembley the previous night.  
My friends wore various-colored dress shirts, ties, black jackets with the United emblem on them, khaki dress pants, and black socks and shoes. My outfit also included black socks and shoes, but that was it in terms of similarities to my teammates' suits. In my closet instead of a suit had been a white _"barong Tagalog"_, a semi-transparent decorated Filipino dress shirt (the sight of which had put a good grin on my face), with an undershirt to go underneath that plus black pants. Wearing a _"barong Tagalog"_ in a place like England is definitely not the most comfortable thing, but the recent relatively favorable weather definitely made it bearable. The egotistical part of me brought up the thought that I looked like some prince out of the Far East, and I grinned as that thought surfaced.  
"Where do you think we're going?" I asked the team when we were all seated.  
"I don't know, but it sounds like it'll be terrific!" Phillip said.  
"You chaps won't have to wait much longer to find out—we're almost there!" The driver called jovially from the front.  
"Wait a moment." David said. "This is the route to Buckingham Palace!"  
"We're not going **there**, are we?" I asked, jolted by the prospect of having an audience with not only Princess Serenity and Princess Mercury, but also the Queen.  
"It's hard to believe, but I think that's where we're going tonight!" Gary said.  
"You're right! Look out there—it's a reception!" Paul yelled.  
"**What?**" David, Ruud, and I all asked almost simultaneously, shocked.  
"Take a look!" Paul said, pointing towards the front windows as I could see the palace come into view through the front windows.

We scrambled towards the front of the bus, and when we got there, our jaws dropped as we beheld just what had happened to the palace courtyard, which we were able to survey both with our own eyes and through a couple of screens that had been set up outside. It had turned, basically, into a brightly lit pavilion that felt half like Buckingham Palace and half like an arena. Three banks of seats had been set up in the courtyard. Each bank appeared to be allocated to a particular team (for example, the United section was the bank in the center.) The fact that amazed us was that we could tell which section was for which team because each section was packed with fans in stadium attire. With the added fact that there were also fans leaning out of the courtyard windows (my guess is the royal family decided to make exceptions and allow them to do that on that night), it was a crowd that didn't feel unlike the crowd from the previous night at Wembley. I noticed that among the crowd were the special custom flags for each of our teams as associated with the Sailor Scouts (if you know what I'm saying)—the _Guerrieri di Torino_ for Juventus, the Guardians of Manchester of us, and the 1st Highbury Valkyrie Artillery (a play on the "Gunners" nickname applied to Arsenal.)  
The sight on the stage was a mix between fantasy and reality in terms of the dignitaries who were there. The five Inner Sailor Scouts stood on it in princess form, each wearing an appropriately colored dress. For example, Princess Serenity was in her famous gold-trimmed white gown, while Amy's/Sailor Mercury's princess self, Princess Mercury, looked charming herself in a sky blue dress.  
On either side of the Scouts were six more great dignitaries, this time of our world: Queen Elizabeth II, Tony Blair, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Bersculoni, UEFA president Leonnart Johannsen, and FIFA president Sepp Blatter, along with London Mayor Ken Livingstone. To add even more of a regal air to it, another detachment of Buckingham Palace guards surrounded them.  
Behind the stage was a sort of old-fashioned touch: five banners hung on the palace façade. One was a black banner with the pinstriped Juventus emblem, while another was red with Manchester United's trademark red and gold "red devil" emblem and yet another was also red, only with Arsenal's red and white emblem with a cannon in the center of a shield. The last two were especially dignified, as one was white with the crest of the House of Windsor—the British Royal Family—on it in blue and red, while another was white with the Sailor Scout emblem on it in gold. The Sailor Scout emblem is made up of Sailor Moon's disguise pen silhouette set in front of a white-winged gold heart that is in turn set in front of a silver sword. Below the heart is "Sailor Scouts" and above it is "Amor et Iustitia", which is Latin for "Love and Justice." On either side of those banners were the flags of England, Italy, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, France, the United States, the Netherlands, Norway, and the Czech Republic.

The bus had come to a stop in front of the gate to the courtyard by now. Still absolutely shocked at the scene, we got off the bus and quickly lined up single-file. Rio led us into the courtyard as the crowd, particularly the United crowd, really started to let us hear it. One girl jumped out of our section, grabbed him, and kissed him on the cheek—and she wasn't the only one to jump out at us.  
An usher in front of Rio, though, was able to get us to our seats at the front of our section, and I took my seat between Phillip and David, waving along with some of the others. To our left, I could see the Juventus players in suits, and to our right, I could see the Arsenal Ladies players in ladies' suits, with one or two exceptions in dresses, including Devon—all of them standing up to applaud and cheer us as we came in, to my delight.  
The two rows behind each row of official team members were also filled with family members—for example, Victoria and young Brooklyn Beckham, David's and her firstborn son, plus Rio's younger brother Anton from West Ham United. My family wasn't able to make it because my parents had some pressing business at work and couldn't get a plane, but my parents had called me in the locker room after the battle and let me know they couldn't be prouder—which I was definitely glad to hear. Take my word for it—kudos from Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, my teammates—by which I mean my United and Juventus teammates—and over 90,000 fans is very nice, but it's not quite the same without kudos from your family.  
Looking up again, I could see two things: one, that there wasn't a person on stage that wasn't smiling at us, and two, that Princess Serenity had stepped to a podium with a microphone attached to it, which meant that the crowd kept going for a few more seconds and then fell silent.

"I'm not exactly a talented public speaker, so I'm going to cut to the chase." She said, smiling making all of us laugh before she gathered her voice and said, "Tonight, because of incredible events that have transpired over the past eight days, we are pleased to award the Sailor Scout Award For Sporting Valor team commendation to a team based on Planet Earth for the first time—or, rather, for the first three times. A round of applause, please, for Manchester United, Juventus, and Arsenal Ladies."  
The crowd obliged with loud cheers before eventually quieting down and allowing Princess Serenity to continue,  
"To each team to be honored tonight, even though this success is unique, success is nothing new—numerous titles domestically and internationally, plus so many of their players being chosen to represent their countries. Also, many, if not all of us, understand that everyone has a case of 'do or die' sometime in their lifetime. However, chances are it's not literally 'do this or die.' That said, how do you practice for an actual 'victory or death' scenario where you literally have to fight for your life?"  
There was a pause, during which no sound was heard before she continued,  
"The answer is by surviving such scenarios a lot—a luxury that none of these three teams had. But that didn't stop them from volunteering themselves to face that situation—granted, with our help—" She paused as some of us in the crowd laughed before she added, "and coming through with flying colors. How we'll be able to repay them is beyond me, but we can start by giving them something special here tonight. I understand that here in Europe, whether a season can be considered a success is measured by how many cups and trophies a team wins in a year. Well, if there are any doubts over these teams contributions making their seasons into successes, I personally believe we ought to not hear them after tonight because of what these teams are getting tonight."

As she finished, two Buckingham Palace guards appeared carrying something large and shiny towards the stage.   
"Oh, my word!" Ryan yelled.  
"A cup! It's a ruddy cup!" Roy shouted, getting to his feet to see just what it was.  
It was almost an exact replica of the European Club Champions' Cup (the Champions League trophy)—tall and silver—but two outspread pearl-white wings were affixed to it with one on either handle. The cup itself was also filled with flowers—roses, lilies, and golden carnations towards the rim in a show of the United colors, and then five especially beautiful flowers in the center. I suspected that the five princesses had each contributed a flower to it, for among those five flowers, there was one pink, one blue, one red, one green, and one orange. On the front was also a ruby plaque face molded to the cup's shape, with two emblems embossed on it in garnet-one the Sailor Scout emblem and the other emblem the Manchester United emblem with its trademark red devil. On the plaque face, also in pearl-white, were words I couldn't quite make out yet.  
Princess Serenity was speaking again: "Each team here will take home one of these, beginning with Manchester United. However, there are twelve people whose contributions stood out and whose names are on this cup. When your name is called, I would ask that you please come to the stage. There is something we would like to give each of you as well. Princess Mercury, if you will, the first name, if you please."

With that, Princess Mercury came to the podium as Princess Serenity stepped aside and some music started to play. At the same time, the team award trophy was set down on a plinth in the center of the stage. She looked down at what must have been a list in front of her, smiled, and read the first name:  
"From England, David Robert Joseph Beckham."  
Not surprisingly, the square erupted with the United section in the lead. In addition, it only took ten seconds or so for them—and, amazingly, the fans in the Arsenal Ladies and Juventus sections—to unite in the chant we had heard the previous night of _"One David Beckham, there's only one David Beckham…"_  
David got up and gave us a smile before he marched to the stairs to the stage, where an attendant was waiting with an English flag in his hands. When David arrived, the attendant signaled him to stop, and then he tied the flag around David's neck like a scarf before motioning to him to ascend the steps, during which a guard made the announcement, "All spectators are welcome to cheer the honorees, but please remain silent when they ascend the stage until they reach the platform." In the meantime, I looked to the right and momentarily and found that other guards had brought a wooden case lined with velvet to the stage and that Princess Mercury was pulling something out of it and handing it to Princess Serenity.  
"Medals?" I asked Rio quietly, grinning more broadly at the thought.  
"That's what it looks like!" Rio replied, also grinning.  
The crowd fell silent as David ascended the stage. He shook hands with Mayor Livingstone, both Prime Ministers, Mr. Blatter, and Mr. Johannsen in that order and then faced Princess Serenity, who, as Rio had speculated, had a gold medal in her hands. He bent over slightly to let her slip the medal over his neck, then straightened up and beamed. He was about to shake her hand when she opened her arms and beamed back. He took the invitation and gave her a hug—and found her hugging him back. After getting congratulations and hugs from the other Princess Inners, he ascended a raised platform at the back of the stage just as the crowd was given the signal that they were allowed to cheer again, and they obliged by breaking out into roars again.

Roy was next, followed by Ryan. It was terrific to watch my friends go up on stage and get rewarded like that—although it was certainly even more fun when my turn arrived as Princess Mercury, who was smiling as she was when she read each name on the list, then read and said, "From the United States of America by way of the Philippines, Phillip Carlo Carlos Santos."  
I grinned broadly as I high-fived both Gary and Rio before standing up as my turn came up to get raucous cheers from the whole courtyard. When I was walking up to the small set of stairs, I heard Filippo yell, _"Belissimo, ragazzo mio!"_  
I grinned at him and yelled, _"Grazie!"_ Right after that, Devon yelled from the Arsenal Ladies front row, "Yeah, way to go, Carlo!"  
"Thanks!" I called to her, waving at her and then the others before reaching the foot of the stairs leading to the stage. It was just then that I suddenly realized that David's chant had come up—with a twist. _"One Carlo Santos, there's only one Carlo Santos…"_  
Something from what I had heard some on the street say that day hit home for me as I heard that chant and froze for a moment.  
**Some talked about us becoming legends after last night…**I thought, **…Can I actually list myself among them?**  
The other voice in my head replied, **I guess so…I mean, you and your teammates just saved the city of London—maybe even the world and maybe even the universe, and you've won the Sailor Scout Award For Sporting Honor! Go ahead and get up there!**  
"Oh, stop it, you guys." I said, shaking my head and chuckling, but also smiling and bowing to the audience to acknowledge them. "I'm so unimportant…" I tried to say, adopting my Bugs Bunny imitation again. I soon realized, however, that they didn't have ears for any of that that evening.

When I stood up straight again, the attendant had both the American and Philippine flags ready in his hands and tied them around my neck right before I ascended the steps and the crowd respectfully fell silent again.  
Like David, I was directed to Mayor Livingstone and Prime Ministers Blair and Bersculoni first, and I grinned as I received congratulations from them—in Bersculoni's case, in a strong Italian accent—and then took the plaudits from Mr. Johannsen and Mr. Blatter. I really appreciated Mr. Bersculoni being a class act when we met him, since his position didn't make it the easiest job. To be specific, aside from being the man who runs Italy, Mr. Bersculoni was and is also the owner of AC Milan, Italy's most successful club at European level and one of the two possible opponents along with crosstown rivals Inter Milan for either Juventus or United in the Champions League finale. Translation: He was gracious to us when two of the three teams being honored could be the team to deny his beloved Milan a Champions League trophy.  
It was at that point that I found myself thinking something that I had thought a lot before we had come up to the stage. **I'm not supposed to be doing this.** I thought. **I'm only a high school sophomore, for the love of Mike! I'm only 15! I'm not supposed to be shaking hands with Silvio Bersculoni and Tony Blair, am I?**  
Meanwhile, the vocals had started up on the music. As it turned out, it was Live For Love United by a French group called Love United. I had heard it before on the 2002 World Cup album and had enjoyed it, which meant I was all too happy that it was playing after our fans had apparently designated this as the Scout/United joint theme song as "Guardians Of Manchester" while using the song title as our motto on the emblem.

_Have you ever dreamed of playing for the biggest team there is on earth?  
Have you ever planned of dreaming large? The time is now and you are the star  
Football is traveling in your direction, you give it all your attention  
Pick it up and pass it on, that's what's gonna make us strong_

Next, I shook hands with a smiling Queen Elizabeth. I was then directed towards Princess Serenity, who I saw was receiving my medal from Princess Mercury, who had taken it out of its case. My smile widened as I faced her.  
I instinctively bent over, felt Princess Serenity drape the medal around my neck, straightened up, grasped the medal, and turned it so that its front was facing me.  
It was a gold medal with a pearl five-point star inscribed on it with Sailor Moon's disguise pen silhouette in the center. At each of the five points was a symbol of one of the five Inner Sailor Scouts, which meant that there was a topaz crescent moon, a ruby Mars sign, a citrine Venus sign, an emerald Jupiter sign, and a sapphire Mercury sign. (By the way, I didn't look at the straps until later, but they matched our club colors (for example, the straps for my teammates' and my medals were red with white writing reading "Sailor Scout Award For Sporting Honor".)  
I looked up with a huge smile on my face and found Princess Serenity's smile matching it, if not outdoing it, as she opened her arms. With that, we shared a huge hug, which included me resting my head on her shoulder.

_We will live for love united, we will give for love united  
For moments like this, for all those we've missed  
We will live for love united, come together undivided  
We will stand up for all the people of the world..._

**Now this cannot be happening!** I thought frantically. **I'm up onstage with the Inner Sailor Scouts in princess form at an awards ceremony—as a 15-year-old high school sophomore? This can't be right, can it?!**  
That thought rolled off my tongue as I said, "Oh, man!" while chuckling slightly.  
"How do you feel?" Princess Serenity asked me.  
"Well, there's a part of me that still can't believe we did it. Thank you so much."  
"Believe it." She told me earnestly. "And believe me when I say we won't forget what you and your teammates did."  
Once she had said that, she put her arms back to her sides and nodded at Princess Mercury. All three of us were smiling broadly as I walked over to Princess Mercury, who opened her arms. I took the invitation and embraced her firmly.  
"Oh, man..." I said again. "This is just incredible..."  
Princess Mercury chuckled and then said earnestly, "I've said this to every one of your teammates who have gone before you, I'll tell it to you, and I'll tell it to your teammates who will also be up here tonight: 'I'm very proud of you.'"  
Once she had let given me a quick squeeze before letting me go, I became curious about the inscription on the front of the cup. Peeking around the plinth at the ruby plaque that had been molded to the face of the trophy, I could see that the pearl-white writing read,

_The Sailor Scout Award For Sporting Honor  
Team Commendation_

_Awarded To  
Manchester United Football Club  
Manchester, England, Great Britain/United Kingdom  
April 10, 2003_

_Individual Commendation Winners  
David Beckham  
Roy Keane  
Ryan Giggs  
Phillip Carlo Santos  
Paul Scholes  
Ruud Van Nistelrooy  
Rio Ferdinand  
Gary Neville  
Phillip Neville  
Nicky Butt  
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer  
Sir Alex Ferguson (Coach)_

I then turned towards Princess Venus. "Oh, boy…" was the next thing to come out of my mouth as she hugged me.  
"Having fun yet tonight?" She asked.  
"Definitely." I replied fervently.  
"That's great." She said. Then she told me meaningfully, "Remember, **nobody** will be able to take this away from you or anyone who went through this with you. Congratulations."  
I smiled at her and she smiled back before I got my chance to meet Princess Mars and Princess Jupiter. I first went up to Princess Mars, trying to stand up straight and be composed as I extended my hand and said, "Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty."  
"Oh, you don't have to say that to us." She told me with a laugh as she shook my hand before giving me a hug and telling me, "I like the spirit you and your friends displayed out there. You guys should be proud of yourselves."  
"You showed a lot of grace under pressure out there, Carlo." She said, smiling back as I shook her hand. "Tell me…are you taking martial arts?"  
"I'm a first-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do." I said truthfully. I owe quite a bit of my character and stamina to my training in Tae Kwon Do, by the way.  
"Not bad at all!" She said, grinning before giving me a hug (not too tight, thank God!) and saying, "Well done. You really earned your place up here tonight."  
I smiled at her, said "Thanks", and stepped up onto the raised platform with David, Paul, and Ryan as Ruud was called to the stage.

As Ruud had the sky blue, white, and orange of the Netherlands wrapped around his neck and as he received his medal and took his turn on stage followed by Rio and then Gary—who kissed the team award cup before joining us on the platform—I noticed a growing trend as each of us took our turns at center stage: we were gracious throughout and gave good hugs to each of the Scouts, but we saved our biggest hugs for Princess Mercury and Princess Serenity. **Only logical—only right given what they in particular did for us**, I thought. The previous night, when I had been interviewed after I had changed out of my uniform, a reporter had asked each of us what we thought of Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury. My reply was, "Oh, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury were simply **unbelievable**. Whenever we needed encouragement, they responded with those terrific smiles—and a few choice words. Whenever we needed a big play, they helped us come up with it. And what's more, if we needed a sacrifice, they'd have provided that too."  
Phillip was third to last, and as he hugged Princess Mercury, I was astonished to see him begin to shed tears of joy. I had long known from experience as a fan that soccer is a sport that can make a grown man cry, player or not, but I had never seen a soccer-related breakdown in person, so it was always astonishing to watch. He managed to turn to Princess Serenity before collapsing into her. I could see David, Paul, and some of the others smiling as she held him close like a true friend as he embraced her and sobbed into her left shoulder, letting his tears leak down her neck into her gown—all because he was almost brought to his knees by the realization of what we had done, as he would tell me later.  
"You okay, Phil?" I asked once he was up on the platform.  
"Yeah…I just can't thank those two enough!" He said, pointing at Princess Serenity and Princess Mercury. His face was still shining, but now he was also smiling.  
I looked at him in the eyes and said meaningfully, "Hey, none of us can, but remember, you've earned the right to be up here tonight!" I then smiled and he smiled back as Nicky joined us, followed by Ole draped in the Norwegian flag.

Princess Mercury, still smiling like those of us up on stage, then read the last name off the list: "And last but not least, from Scotland, the team coach, Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson."  
One thing that I forgot to mention back while we were training for the semifinals and our second battle was that he had helped Amy outline our training regimen—among other things—and his pregame talk the previous night had been the perfect tonesetter. When he received his medal, he made as if he was going to shake hands with Princess Serenity, but when she took his hand, she also embraced him and pulled him in close too.

Once he was up with us, Princess Mercury asked, "Will a United representative please come forward to accept the trophy?"  
Everyone looked at Roy. As you may know, soccer is one of those sports where the victorious team captain traditionally accepts the trophy and is the first to raise it.  
"I may be United skipper, but Becks's captain of the Guardians of Manchester." Roy said. "Go on, get up there!"  
David laughed, grinned, and said, "Thanks, Keano." He then stepped forward off the raised part of the stage as the United section continued to keep up the noise. At the same time, Paul, Phillip, and a few of the others started bouncing up and down on the balls of their feet. For some reason, that let me know that we were not going to accept the team award like soccer players receiving a major honor of state, but like soccer players accepting a major soccer honor. I grinned broadly as I realized just what that meant. As Princess Serenity picked up her scepter and seemingly readied it, I could see that again, there was not one of us onstage who wasn't smiling.  
Once David and Princess Mercury were on opposite sides of the plinth and Princess Serenity was behind it facing the crowd, Princess Serenity raised her scepter and fired several red, white, and gold sparks into the air above us. We watched them rise before they burst over us and the crowd. Those bursts seemed to multiply extremely quickly, causing a cascading shower of lights in the United colors. Princess Mercury's and David's eyes then met, and she took the trophy and handed it to him.

_Have you ever dreamed of flying high? Looking down from heaven with God's eyes?  
You know we could use some intervention, children needing your protection  
It's not enough to sing their song—lift the cup and pass it on_

Several things happened all at once when Princess Mercury handed the trophy to David. He gripped it more tightly and thrust it over his head high into the air, the whole courtyard went berserk with the United section being the loudest, everyone onstage apart from our team beamed at us, and my teammates and I began to cheer our hearts out, absolutely euphoric.  
I also began bounding up and down in place on the balls of my feet like a kangaroo, roaring, **"Yeah! United! United!"** at the top of my lungs. Even Coach Ferguson was yelling.  
It looked for all the world like a major international trophy presentation, only we were in formal clothes instead of uniforms, the shower of light replaced the confetti, this was the courtyard of Buckingham Palace instead of a stadium, and it was Princess Serenity handing us our trophy instead of Mr. Johannsen or Mr. Blatter.  
All around me, I could see and hear my teammates roaring with joy, the princess Scouts smiling broadly at us, the Juventus and Arsenal Ladies players and fan sections graciously cheering us loudly as if we were really their teammates, the shimmering lights in United colors cascading onto the stage, and our section plus those fans hanging out of the windows cheering their heads off and making the noise level seem like the level of a full house at Old Trafford or Wembley. I had the feeling that I was not the only United player who had felt nothing like this before—and that's even though there were more than a few players on that 1999 treble-winning squad who were still there! All the while, the music continued playing,

_We will live for love united, we will give for love united  
For moments like this, for all those we've missed  
We will live for love united, come together undivided  
We will stand up for all the people of the world_

Once we got back into our seats after some interviews and some autographs, we watched Juventus and Arsenal Ladies receive their medals and trophies. I remember cheering wildly for friends both old and new as they, including Filippo and Devon, were also decorated.  
Finally, Princess Serenity said, "However, this evening does not end here. Mr. Blatter has informed me that there is an announcement he would like to make, so I would like to hand over the podium to him to make it right now."  
He took the stage to some applause before he said, "Thank you, Your Royal Highness. Before I go on, I would like you to applaud Princess Serenity and her colleagues up here, as well as Arsenal Ladies, Juventus, and Manchester United, because they truly are some special teams, both by themselves and together."  
With grins, we allowed ourselves a round of applause as he smiled before he finished,  
"So special that tonight, I am pleased to ask the Sailor Scouts, Juventus, Manchester United, and Arsenal Ladies if I, Leonnart, and our colleagues at FIFA and UEFA can help the footballing world and the world as a whole celebrate these victories with another battle: a celebratory match at Wembley tomorrow night between a united Juventus/Manchester United/Arsenal Ladies side—unless, of course, the Sailor Scouts wish to participate as well—" He indicated the five young princesses onstage here as we laughed and applauded "—and a World XI. We at FIFA have been contacting some of the absolute best male and female players in the world, and we have a full side in London at the moment."

The term 'XI' (as in the Roman numeral for 11, referring to the number of players in a soccer squad) comes up a bit in soccer outside of the United States, as it is the international term used to describe an all-star soccer team. Fans in Europe and elsewhere vote on their weekly XIs based on weekend domestic league performances and such, and the Team of the Tournament named at major competitions involving national teams. FIFA also often assembles a World XI that is used for special matches. I heard of one such team doing a peace match in the Balkans, and more recently, they played against Real Madrid to help Real celebrate its centenary (the 100th anniversary of its founding.)  
At Mr. Blatter's words, the crowd went wild and began to chant for Princess Serenity and the rest of us to take him up on the offer.  
"That sounds like a terrific idea, Mr. Blatter—if the players want to go ahead with it." Princess Serenity replied with a smile. "What do you say?" She asked, looking first at the Juventus delegation, then us, then the Arsenal Ladies delegation. Edgar stood up and started clapping with a smile on his face, and within twenty seconds, the rest of us had joined him.  
She smiled at us before continuing, "One more point—the celebration is a celebratory match. That night is for the players, so even though there is a possibility that we might take the field, as of right now so we will only be helping with the coaching—if Coaches Lippi (in reference to Juventus' coach, Marcelo Lippi), Ferguson, and Akers (Arsenal Ladies was and is coached by Vic Akers) consent to it."  
The crowd made yet more noise, this time understanding applause as appreciation for Princess Serenity's decision.  
Mr. Blatter smiled, nodded appreciatively, and asked her, "Do you have any ideas for a team name, Your Highness?"  
"Not exactly," She answered, before turning to the audience and saying, "But someone in the crowd might. Anyone who wants to suggest a name, please stand."

A man who looked like he was in his 20s in the row behind us and my friends' families in the United section was one of those who stood up, and an attendant handed him a microphone. He said in a British accent, "I would say the 'Saviors Of London,' Your Majesty, but that wouldn't be doing justice, would it? I mean, nothing at all against old London Town, but it wasn't the only place at risk last night, was it?"  
"I suppose not." Princess Serenity said.  
"Well, to that end, I say we call it the 'Sailor Scout XI'. I mean, we already have the Prime Minister's XI and the Patron's XI in cricket, so why not do a variation of that with the Sailor Scout XI?"  
"That certainly sounds all right to me." Princess Serenity said, smiling at him. "Is that okay with the rest of you?" She asked the crowd at large.  
"Yeah, sure!" I said amidst all the various expressions of assent.  
"I like that!" I heard Devon piping up.

Once the ceremony concluded shortly afterwards, we had something of a photo shoot with each other and those we knew in the crowd. I grinned as the three decorated teens—myself, Devon, and Filippo (much to our amusement, we had been labeled "The Three Protegés" of Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Venus)—had a photo taken with the trophies and our medals alongside Queen Elizabeth, Princess Serenity, both Prime Ministers, Mayor Livingstone, and the other princess Scouts.  
After we were all done, the royals, dignitaries, and guards beckoned us inside for a private dinner and party—with only a small amount of conscientious media allowed. We had a good dinner, laughed, and chatted about various things, including the battles and the continuing celebrations now scheduled for the next night, and even danced a bit (there was a room that they allotted for that, and a jazz band was there that evening) Most of all, we got a chance to relax like just like normal people while still enjoying the company of each other and people like Princess Serenity and Tony Blair.

I had just finished dancing first with Princess Mercury to a jazz version of Music Of The Heart by N' Sync and Gloria Estefan, then with Princess Serenity to Jump, Jive, And Wail (both as a result of playful joshing by some of the other players similar to what had happened at Trafalgar Square) and finally with Devon to a tune that I hadn't heard before and was talking to Prime Minister Blair with a glass of Pepsi in my hand about what he and President Bush had been talking about in terms of Iraq (I had to do it, being the student that I am) when my phone rang.  
"Hang on, Mr. Blair." I said, grinning at him as he nodded understandingly and grinned back.  
I looked at my phone screen and found that the call was from Dad. We chatted for a bit, and then he asked me, "Sounds like there's a bunch of noise over there. What's going on?"  
"Uh, long story." I said, grinning more broadly. "You won't believe this, but…"

In the next chapter—"The Celebratory Matches":  
Led by Sailor Moon, the Sailor Scouts as honorary captains and coaches lead not one Manchester United/Arsenal Ladies/Juventus team out at Wembley for a single celebratory match, but three unified squads for three matches! How do the Sailor Scout XIs stack up against the rest of the best of the world? And the Scouts decide to take the field as players! It's not the most dramatic chapter, but it also promises to be can't-miss!

Closing Author's Notes: Congratulations to Alessandro, Gianluca, Coach Lippi, and the rest of Team Italy on their fourth World Cup win, congratulations to Roy on his being named Sunderland head coach, and Rest In Peace, George Best. For those of you not familiar with United's history, he was a Northern Irishman who played for United starting at age 17 and who was so skilled that he has drawn comparisons to some of the greatest players of all time, including Brazil's Pelé and Argentina's Diego Maradona—and who also passed away on the last Tuesday of this past November after multiple organ failure in a hospital in west London.  
Also, less than four months ago, Juventus' front office was convicted of match-fixing and the club was relegated to Serie B. Let me make it clear that I still believe Juventus is an honorable club, and therefore ask that you do not consider that verdict as you read this.  
Last but not least, some kudos I should have doled out long ago. Congratulations to David, the newly-honored Lord Sebastian Coe KBE (Knight Commander of the British Empire), and company. Early in July 2005, London was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics—the first Olympiad in the United Kingdom since 1948. Lord Coe, a two-time Olympic track gold medalist in the 1500-meter, was the bid leader and David was a bid ambassador, meaning the two of them are now also involved in helping get the Games ready over the next six and a half years. Best of luck to them.

Original Version (released before April 2003)  
Block Party—Will Smith  
Bootylicious (Rockwilder Remix)—Destiny's Child featuring Missy Elliott  
Live For Love United—Love United

Modern Version  
Rock Your Body—Justin Timberlake  
So Sexy—Twista featuring R. Kelly  
It's Like That (Y'all)—Mariah Carey featuring Jadakiss  
Shortie Like Mine—Bow Wow featuring Chris Brown & Johnta Austin


	7. Appendix: AllStar Rosters & Music

Opening Author's Notes: Hi there, guys! The next chapter may be a little long, so here's a little something to tide you over until then. Here are the rosters for the celebratory series of matches for the next chapter, plus some music related to the team (I hope I made the right picks!)

_**Sailor Scout All-Stars/XIs**  
(combined team including Sailor Scouts, Juventus, Manchester United, & Arsenal Ladies)_

_Honorary Co-Captains & Coaches: Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, & Sailor Jupiter_

_Coaches: Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland, Manchester United), Marcelo Lippi (Italy, Juventus), Vic Akers (England, Arsenal Ladies)_

_**Roster for first series  
(Friday, April 11, 2003 vs. FIFA World All-Stars at Wembley Stadium, London, England)  
Note: Rosters below are for while the Sailor Scouts are not on the field, and anyone who has played earlier is eligible as a sub for a later match (for example, a third-teamer can be a sub into the match involving the second team.)**_

_**Third Team**_  
—G Fabien Barthez (France, Manchester United)  
—D Yvonne Tracy (England, Arsenal Ladies)  
—D Ciro Ferrara (Italy, Juventus, co-captain)  
—D Paolo Montero (Uruguay, Juventus)  
—M Nicky Butt (England, Manchester United, co-captain)  
—M Ciara Grant (Ireland, Arsenal Ladies)  
—M Mauro Camoranesi (Italy, Juventus)  
—M/F Ellen Maggs (England, Arsenal Ladies)  
—F Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Netherlands, Manchester United)  
—F Marco Di Vaio (Italy, Juventus)  
—F Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Norway, Manchester United)

_**Second Team**_  
—G Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, Juventus)  
—D Gary Neville (England, Manchester United)  
—D/M Phillip Neville (England, Manchester United)  
—D/M Leanne Champ (England, Arsenal Ladies)  
—M/D Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy, Juventus)  
—M Jayne Ludlow (Wales, Arsenal Ladies, co-captain)  
—M Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic, Juventus)  
—M Roy Keane (Ireland, Manchester United, co-captain)  
—M Paul Scholes (England, Manchester United)  
—F Angela Banks (England, Arsenal Ladies)  
—F David Trezeguet (France, Juventus)

_**First Team**_  
—G Emma Anne Byrne (Northern Ireland, Arsenal Ladies)  
—D Faye White (England, Arsenal Ladies, co-captain)  
—D Rio Ferdinand (England, Manchester United)  
—D Lilian Thuram (France, Juventus)  
—M/D Devon Fitzgerald (United States, Arsenal Ladies)  
—M Edgar Davids (Netherlands, Juventus)  
—M David Beckham (England, Manchester United, co-captain)  
—M Carlo Santos (United States, Manchester United)  
—M/F Ryan Giggs (Wales, Manchester United)  
—F/M Alessandro Del Piero (Italy, Juventus, co-captain)  
—F Filippo Dibari (Italy, Juventus)

_**Related Team Music**_

_God Save The Queen (English & British National Anthem & Unofficial Team Anthem)_

_God save our gracious Queen,  
Long live our noble Queen,  
God save the Queen!  
Send her victorious,  
Happy and glorious,  
Long to reign over us,  
God save the Queen!_

_Thy choicest gifts in store  
On her be pleased to pour,  
Long may she reign!  
May she defend our laws  
And ever give us cause  
To sing with heart and voice,  
"God Save The Queen!"_

_Sailor Moon (a Juventus fan anthem)_  
(Author's Note: This is the anime's real first season opening theme in Italy, performed by Italian pop artist Cristina D'Avena)

_Original Italian:_

_Raggio di luna che rendi la notte romantica  
Con quella luce che avvolge la sera bianca e pallida  
Sailor Moon, hai la notte in te  
Principessa di un regno che non sai dov'e'  
Sailor Moon, sempre magica  
Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon, sei fantastica!  
Sailor Moon, amica Sailor Moon  
Con la luna sai, vedi sempre dov'e' vai  
Sailor Moon, amica Sailor Moon  
Senza luna sai, la notte e' scura piu' che mai!_

_English Translation:_

_Ray of Moon, you who make the night romantic  
With that white and pale light that covers up the evening  
Sailor Moon, you've the night in you  
Princess of a kingdom, but you don't know where  
Sailor Moon, always magical  
Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon, you're fantastic!  
Sailor Moon, my friend Sailor Moon  
With the Moon, you know, you always see where you're going  
Sailor Moon, my friend Sailor Moon  
Without the Moon, you know, the night is darker than ever!_

_Il Canto Degli Guerrieri di Torino_ (The Song Of The Warriors of Turin)  
Incorporates the Italian National Anthem, _Il Canto Degli Italiani/Fratelli d'Italia/L'Inno di Mameli_ (The Song Of The Italians/Brothers Of Italy/Mameli's Hymn)

_Original Italian:_

_Fratelli d'Italia, l'Italia s'è desta!  
Dell'elmo di Scipio  s'è cinta la testa  
Dov'e' la Vittoria? Le porga la chioma  
Che schiava di Roma  iddio la creò_

_Fratelli della Luna, la Luna s'è desta!  
Dell'elmo di Scipio  s'è cinta la testa  
Dov'e' la Vittoria? Le porga la chioma  
Che schiava di Serenity  iddio la creò_

_Stringiamoci a coorte,  siam pronti alla morte  
Siam pronti alla morte—la Luna chiamò!  
Stringiamoci a coorte,  siam pronti alla morte  
Siam pronti alla morte—Italia chiamò!_

_Uniamoci, amiamoci, l'unione e l'amore  
Rivelano ai popoli le vie del Signore  
Giuriamo par libero il suolo natio  
Uniti per Dio, chi vincer ci può?_

_Uniamoci, amiamoci, l'unione e l'amore  
Rivelano ai popoli le vie del Signore  
Giuriamo par libero il suolo alleato  
Uniti per Dio, chi vincer ci può?_

_Stringiamoci a coorte,  siam pronti alla morte  
Siam pronti alla morte—Italia chiamò!  
Stringiamoci a coorte,  siam pronti alla morte  
Siam pronti alla morte—la Luna chiamò!_

_English Translation:_

_Brothers of Italy, Italy has awakened!  
With Scipio's helmet she has bound her head  
Where is Victory? Let her bow down  
For God has made her Rome's slave_

_Brothers of the Moon, the Moon has awakened!  
With Scipio's helmet she has bound her head  
Where is Victory? Let her bow down  
For God has made her Serenity's slave_

_Let us join in cohort, we are ready to die!  
We are ready to die—the Moon has called!  
Let us join in cohort, we are ready to die!  
We are ready to die—Italy has called!_

_Let us unite and love one another—(with) unity and love  
Show the people the way of the Lord  
Let us swear to free our native soil  
United under God, who can defeat us?_

_Let us unite and love one another—(with) unity and love  
Show the people the way of the Lord  
Let us swear to free our allied soil  
United under God, who can defeat us?_

_Let us join in cohort, we are ready to die!  
We are ready to die—Italy has called!  
Let us join in cohort, we are ready to die!  
We are ready to die—the Moon has called!_

Closing Author's Notes: Still can't believe David's coming over to the Galaxy to play in MLS! Hope this looks good–please leave a review to let me know if you like where this is going!_  
_


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